In many respects, this spring has gotten off to a great start. We have received plenty of rain, the temperatures have not been too cold, we have dodged the late frosts, and we have had some beautiful days. But it appears that the things we have been enjoying may have created a lot of problems for us. If just a few things go wrong with the weather during the next several months, we may have a lot of problems.

Our farmers remember last summer's drought. They planted soybeans, and it was so dry in many fields the seeds never germinated. Some crops started off well, and then the farmers watched them burn up in the fields, and there was nothing they could do about it. Even though tobacco can tolerate drought so well, it was unable to produce the weight and quality the farmers needed. So they are very hesitant to complain about all the rain they have received this spring.

But the abundant and frequent showers we have received this spring has delayed land preparation and planting far beyond optimum times. Farmers were unable to get into tobacco fields well before planting time to apply the weed and disease materials they needed. So for many of them, when the fields got dry enough to transplant tobacco, they started putting the plants in the field. Without the protection they needed, many tobacco fields this year may have serious weed and disease problems.

It has been a long time since there was no corn planted in Robeson County by the first day of March. But this year, most of the farmers were not even able to start planting until after mid-April. Our research shows that for every day that planting is delayed after April 10, the yield potential will decrease a certain amount. In fact, the yield potential is reduced so much that we do not even recommend that farmers plant corn after the first day of May. Unless the remainder of the year provides an ideal growing season, there is a great likelihood that yields will not be high enough to offset expenses.

Our vegetable growers are experiencing some of the same problems. Even though there is plenty of moisture in the soil and the days are warm, it has been so wet that they have been unable to get into the field to plant, and the nights have been so cool that young seedling do not grow very fast.

Homeowners are experiencing some of the same problems. Centipede lawns were placed under a lot of stress last summer because of the heat and drought, even though many people tried to irrigate them frequently. The plants were barely able to survive much less develop the deep root system they needed to help them survive the winter.

If you remember, even though we had very few days of extremely cold weather during the winter, our average temperatures were much colder than in recent years. This was just enough cold stress that lawns already weakened from last summer's drought had a lot of difficulty living through the winter. Because of this, as centipede greens up this spring, many homeowners are perplexed to see a lot of dead spots in their lawns.

Many homeowners in this area have centipede lawns, and many of them do not understand that centipede is a low-maintenance grass. It does not like a lot of nitrogen fertilizer and is somewhat sensitive to some of the more commonly used lawn weed killers. Centipede should not be fertilized until late May and then should receive just a very small amount of nitrogen, about ½ pound per 1,000 square feet. Centipede is especially sensitive to herbicides during the time of the year that it is greening up. This is usually early March until late April.

So what has happened during the past several months may create additional problems for those trying to have a beautiful centipede lawn. As homeowners start fertilizing centipede lawns in March and April, it is much too early. As they use the highly advertised "weed and feed" fertilizers that are ideal for other types of grasses, they are putting way too much nitrogen on their centipede. In addition, they are usually applying these fertilizers during the time of the year that centipede is trying to green up. This is the time of the year that centipede is especially sensitive to herbicides, so the weed killers in the weed and feed fertilizers are probably doing more harm to the centipede than good.

Both farmers and homeowners have appreciated the abundance of rain we have received. But this rainfall has created ideal conditions for weeds to grow. Not only are there an abundance of weeds in all fields and lawns, these weeds are especially healthy. To compound the problem, the farmers are having some difficulty getting into the fields to apply herbicides. The positive side of this is that if herbicides can be applied, they will probably be more effective since the weeds will definitely not be under drought stress.

Another problem that everyone is experiencing is an abundance of mosquitoes. Wet conditions have provided a lot of places for mosquitoes to breed, and they are especially annoying this year. Homeowners are urged to do all they can to prevent breeding places for mosquitoes such as making sure all ditches drain properly and removing all containers that may collect standing water such as buckets, old tires, and even bird baths.

No one is going to complain about the rain we have received this year, but they may have brought us some additional problems. We probably are more willing to put up with these problems than we would be to put up with a drought.

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 5/7/03