Nematodes in Peanuts

“Nematodes increase exponentially as the season progresses” , my UGA College of Ag professor said years ago and he was right. We have some serious nematode problems in many fields. I’ve seen several peanut and cotton fields lately that are affected. Earlier in the year we had serious effects in corn as well.

These tiny eel-like worms tear up the root system and cause yield loss. You sometimes don’t notice them early in the season, so now’s a good time to scout your fields to identify trouble. Often you first notice poor growth in an area and later you can even have plant death. Of course the Rootknot nematode will cause the galling on the roots. In peanut we have nitrogen producing nodules  on the roots but they can be removed from the side of the root. Nematode galls are a swelling of the root. often knots are seen on young pegs and pods as well.

Here’s a field I looked at this week that is irrigated but has some serious nematode damage that will curtail yields. Remember problem fields so that the next time in the rotation you have the same crop in the field you can take action with chemistry or varieties against nematodes.