Spring in North Carolina's peanut growing region so far has been cooler and drier. This along with less soil moisture and longer dormancy could lead to stand issues for peanut growers.

North Carolina State Extension Peanut Team's regular in-season peanut series called Peanut Notes is a useful online resource for agronomics, conditions and recommendations for the state's peanut growers.

In a recent post, David Jordan, NC State Extension peanut specialist, discusses peanut stand issues growers might see this spring.

"We may run into issues with stands this spring for a number of reasons. Unseasonably cool temperatures and limited soil moisture will be contributing factors. The question of extended dormancy has come up as a possibility. All three of these could contribute to less than ideal stands or delays in making a stand," he said.

In the lower southeast there have been issues with pathogen resistance to seed treatments, he said, but it has not been observed in North Carolina.

"The high oleic trait is a positive for the industry but there can be issues in terms of seedling growth under cool conditions compared with the peanut varieties with a traditional fatty acid profile. Over the next few weeks some of these issues will be a part of the discussion as growers examine peanut stands. Seed is relatively tight, so we are likely going to need to live with the stands we have, but this is a case by case decision," he said.

There may be some some splash up injury from Valor SX. "This is almost always transient and does not affect yield. For those using phorate/Thimet to control thrips, if conditions occur that result in a high amount of product being absorbed at one time, there could be more injury than normal. But like Valor SX, this is generally not a major issue," he said.

Jordan received a recent question regarding stand from a grower.

Grower: I am seeing some stand issues on our emerging peanuts. Mostly Bailey 2 and looking like we are going to have a final stand around 3/ft. Do you think you would try to drop some more seed or leave it be?"

Jordan: I would give them a little more time if it appears more are coming up. It has been a tough spring so far.

Grower: There’s very few still coming and I am counting those. Rotten seed where not up yet.

Jordan: Drop 4 seed per foot in if you have moisture. Still need to include insecticide and inoculant.