Dr. Tyler Towles is a graduate of the Mississippi State University entomology program.  He most recently worked with the LSU AgCenter, but he has returned to his native Mississippi to work as an entomologist at the Delta Research and Extension Center.  Tyler sat down in the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville to visit with Jason and Tom about his background, training, and experience.  The conversation wraps up with Tyler’s plans for his research and Extension programs for 2023.   

MSU Extension Sweet Potato Specialist Lorin Harvey calls into the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville to discuss the Guava root-knot nematode and the potential problems for Mississippi sweet potato. The guava root-knot nematode is similar to the southern root-knot nematode and is considered the most damaging root-knot species in the world because of its wide host range, aggressiveness, and ability to overcome the root-k not resistance developed for many crops. Lorin, Jason, and Tom talk about the origins of the guava root-knot nematode, how it can be detected, and suggestions for management. 

Trent dropped by the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville to visit with Jason and Tom about the beginnings of soybean planting across Mississippi. So far so good for the acres that are in. They discuss the 2023 weather patterns, differences from years past, reasons for optimism and concern in 2023. 

Boyd Padgett and Trey Price with the LSU AgCenter call into the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville to discuss head scab of wheat. Head scab annually carries potential as the most yield limiting disease of wheat in the South.  Boyd and Trey visit with Tom and Jason on evaluating varieties for disease resistance, conditions that favor disease, and tactics that help manage head scab in wheat in the South.

Brian visits the Crop Doctors’ Podcast Studio in Stoneville to talk cotton.  Acreage forecasts have dipped due to recent price reduction.  Following a discussion on acreage guesses for 2023, Brian, Jason, and Tom discuss the commercialization of the ThryvOn trait and how it should be utilized.  The discussion wraps up with nematode management. 

Dr. Mark McConnell, quail biologist with the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station, calls into the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville to discuss opportunities with conservation programs in the U.S. Farm Bill.  Mark works with precision ag data to increase field revenue by identifying low yielding areas where a Farm Bill conservation payment exceeds revenue from production. He and his group have developed software that helps inform this decision and are currently working to provide technical assistance to farmers across MS.

Erick calls into the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville to discuss the early planting for corn that has taken place over the last couple of weeks.  Erick, Jason, and Tom discuss 2023 corn acres, temperature and moisture effects on planting and emergence, and management that may need to be adjusted on early acres.  They end up with a brief discussion nitrogen fertilizer in wheat.

Craig Hankins from the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation visits with Tom and Jason in the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville as a Platinum sponsor of the 2022 Row Crop Short Course.

From the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio in Stoneville, Jason and Tom have a one-on-one conversation related to controlling Italian ryegrass with postemergence burndown treatments. They discuss the contrasting weather in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and its effects on Italian ryegrass growth stages, the positives and negatives of clethodim- and paraquat-based treatments in the spring, and best treatments for major row crops in Mississippi.

Mississippi State Extension Turfgrass Specialist Jay McCurdy calls into the Crop Doctors’ Podcast Studio in Stoneville to discuss turfgrass management.  Jay, Jason, and Tom discuss differences in the common turfgrass species utilized in Mississippi, spring weed control and fertilizer applications, and wrap up the conversation with techniques for soil sampling turfgrass.  Follow Jay on Twitter @MSTurfgrass