Brian Pieralisi visited the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville last week to discuss the Mississippi cotton crop. Favorable weather has come in short stints, but it has allowed a good deal of Mississippi’s cotton acres to be planted recently. Brian, Jason, and Tom discuss some new traits, herbicide availability, nematodes and other early-season issues.

Jason did a recent episode of the Weeds AR Wild Podcast with Bob Scott from the University of Arkansas Systems Division of Agriculture and Tyler Hydrick, a crop consultant from Jonesboro, AR. They discuss ryegrass management, focusing on herbicide treatments, but also on some cultural practices too. The episode is really not crop specific, but it does contain some information tailored to rice.

Erick Larson called into the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville to talk with Jason and Tom about the progress of corn planting across Mississippi. Some corn acres were planted in February, and some have yet to be planted. Problems encountered have included flooding in fields impacting corn before and after emergence, poor stands, and erosion of raised beds affecting nodal root development.

Madison Dixon from the Mississippi State University Agricultural Autonomy Institute visited the Crop Doctor’s Podcast studio in Stoneville to talk with Tom and Jason about updated regulations for commercial operation of unmanned aerial vehicles in Mississippi. More information on the Agricultural Autonomy Institute can be found at https://www.aai.msstate.edu.

Jarrod Hardke from the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture called into the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville to talk with Jason and Tom about rice in the upper Midsouth. Topics include planting progress, effects of weather, herbicide drift, and grass management when the wind dries fields out.

Travis Faske with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture called into the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville to discuss his work on root-knot nematodes in soybean. More information on his work evaluating soybean varieties for host plant resistance can be accessed at https://arkansascrops.uada.edu/posts/disease/2023-soybean-varities-rootknot-nematode.aspx

Daniel Stephenson with the LSU AgCenter is the authority on johnsongrass management in row crops in the Midsouth. Daniel called into the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville to share with Tom and Jason tips for controlling johnsongrass in row crops in the Midsouth.

DREC has a “new” Ag Economist. Dr. Steve Martin served previously as an economist and as the station head at Stoneville before holding a variety of positions with Mississippi State University, including most recently the interim Director of Extension. Steve visited the Crop Doctors’ podcast studio to talk with Jason and Tom about the projects and programs he plans to work on now that he has permanently moved back to the Delta.