Managing Nematodes, Fungal Diseases, and Thrips on Peanut with Pesticides and Crop Rotations of Bahiagrass, Corn, and Cotton1

Abstract The influences of bahiagrass, corn, and cotton in rotation with peanut and treatments with aldicarb, flutolanil, and aldicarb plus flutolanil on nematodes, thrips, diseases caused by soilborne fungal pathogens, and yield of peanut were studied for 3 yr. Peanut yields following either 1 or 2 yr of bahiagrass, corn, or cotton were higher than those of continuous peanut. Peanut yield was greatest in the aldicarb plus flutolanil treated plots (5270 kg/ha), intermediate where aldicarb (4060 kg/ha), or flutolanil (4597 kg/ha) was used without aldicarb, and least in untreated (3690 kg/ha) plots. Yield increases in response to cropping sequences and pesticide treatments resulted primarily from suppression of crop damage by Meloidogyne arenaria, Sclerotium rolfsii, Rhizoctonia solani, and Frankliniella spp. The data document the pest management benefits and yield response associated with using two widely grown agronomic crops (corn and cotton), an improved bahiagrass cultivar, and pesticide treatments in peanut production.