Grady Ag Agent spoke at national peanut conference

Grady County’s extension agent, Ty Torrance, was a presenter at the 50th annual meeting of the American Peanut Research and Education Society held in Virginia last week.
Torrance presented his findings from a two-year research project entitled, “Economics of Peanut Root-knot Nematode Control.”
Torrance says he worked on the research with Dr. T.B. Brenneman with the UGA Plant Pathology Department in Tifton.
“This research was conducted to find the most cost effective way to control peanut nematodes in fields with varying nematode pressure,” Torrance states in his paper. Farmers have options of planting resistant varieties or using chemicals to control the pest, but which will work best to bring the most net income?
Torrance says after conducting the research on a Decatur County farm with a history of nematode problems, he determined there are “a lot of good nematode control options. A couple did numerically better, but not significantly better. It’s more grower and field dependent.”
The nematode is a microscopic worm that attacks the root system and peanut pods of the plants, Torrance explains.
The research and education society meeting was held in Williamsburg, Va., July 10-12. Generally, those in attendance, according to Torrance, were specialists from universities, county agents and agriculture industry representatives.