N.C. Cooperative Extension talks crop damages this summer

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — Throughout the summer so far, we’ve seen a lot of rain and a lot of heat. The N.C. Cooperative Extension in Pitt County says this weather has been impacting farmers.

“So in the Eastern part of the state, especially Pitt County, we’re seeing a lot of water damage. And following that, water damage has been high heat, and it causes crop damage, especially in tobacco,” Pitt County Agriculture Agent, specializing in field crops, Jonathan Smith said. “You know, water, if it doesn’t move out of the fields in 3 to 4 days, it’ll flop over and then it’ll cause an issue where the grower can’t really find a profit on that because the crop is out of a damage in which we can’t really repair.”

Smith says the Cooperative Extension keeps a close eye on rainfall to see how it affects crop systems.

“So with rainfall news, we want to track that water, make sure it moves out, and rainfall, of course, after to fertilizers, and that’s another input cost. The extension’s job is to minimize the inputs and maximize yields,” said Smith.

Although he says tobacco crops are struggling this year, they have high hopes for peanuts and corn.

“We have a 15 window and these later plant varieties to pollinate, and the rain has been beneficial to help with that. But moving forward, the next week is really going to be important with, you know, looking at how land plasmon applying and peanuts, how the rain affects that, and our other inputs across the county. So, looking for the next week is really pivotal to what we see,” Smith said.

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