Happy Labor Day! It’s that time of year again. To make sure that you have a representative sample get plants from at least 3 spots in the field. Then remove 180-200 pods from the plants. Don’t just pick off the larger pods, pick off small pods as well. If we pick off large pods, it can bias the sample toward digging early. There is enough data to show that we lose as much as yield if we dig a week early than a week late. If we dig a week late, there is no difference. We don’t see difference again until we dig 2 weeks too late. We still have to consider the condition of the vines so please take note of their condition as you pull off pods.
Thomas County Ag 