LORIS, S.C. (WBTW) — At Tyler Farms in Loris, fifth generation farmer Trenton Tyler said that his father, brother, and himself are worried for how their crop will turn out come harvest time in September after 15 inches of rain from Tropical Storm Debby.
He said that excess water is an issue as it can make the peanuts rot. But their biggest concern is having disease pressure of molds and funguses build up on the foliage of the plant, killing it completely.
Tyler said peanuts prefer dry and humid soil. He said Horry County has some of the best soil for peanuts, cotton and tobacco.
But with all of the rain from Tropical Storm Debby, he said moisture form the rain is now being trapped in the soil by the vines of the peanut bush by not allowing any sunlight to get to the soil to dry.
”What we’re having to do now is increase our spray programs and hope for some sunshiny, breezy, pretty days is what we need,” he said. “When you dig them, all the nuts, they’re just going to fall off. You’re just going to have a vine with a root with no peanuts on it is what you’ll have there. Or just stay in the ground is what they do because they, basically, the plants die and and it’s just let go of everything it’s connected to.”