For the first time in many years, we are faced with delayed planting of peanuts due to wet fields.

Normally, we are dealing with dry conditions in May and producers with irrigation are able to circumvent this problem by watering and planting on time. However, with wet weather, all producers are affected.

Many fields will not be able to be planted until sometime next week, which forces planting into the first week of June. The major concern is which cultivars we can plant in early- to mid-June.

The only early maturing cultivar we have available is AT 215, which is very limited in supply. The next maturity group is the mid-maturing cultivars. These include Georgia Green, Georgia-03L, Georgia-06G, Georgia Greener, AT 3085RO, AP-4, and Tifguard. I would plant these up until the June 10-15 time frame.

Keep in mind these cultivars mature in about 140 days after planting. Therefore, planting on June 15 means they would approach optimal maturity about Nov. 1.

In 2006 and 2008, the minimum temperature reached the 30s by the third week of October, which is not typical. The average low temperature at Tifton for Nov. 1, is about 50, which means in a “normal” year, a June 15 planting has time, but is risky.

It is too late to plant Georgia-02C, C-99R or York. They just take entirely too long to mature. Planting of those cultivars should have been completed by May 20.

The following cultivars are about seven to 10 days later than the mid-maturing group listed above with Georgia Green. These include: AP-3, Florida-07, Georgia-07W, and McCloud. I would discontinue planting these four cultivars after June 5.

We have no idea what the weather will do the remainder of the season. Therefore, any prognostication on fall weather and its impact on the maturation rate (normal, fast, slow) is purely speculative. The bottom line is we need to complete planting as soon as we can and hope for the best (normal to above normal rainfall in July, August and September and a warm October).