Michael Plumblee

Extension Corn and Soybean Specialist
Assistant Professor of Agronomy
Agronomic Crops Program Team, Water Resources Program Team, Plant and Environmental Sciences Department, Edisto Research and Education Center

Office: Blackville, SC
Phone: 803-284-3343
Fax: 803-284-3684

Email: mplumbl@clemson.edu

Educational Background

Ph.D. Agronomy - Minor Entomology
Mississippi State University 2018

M.S. Agronomy
University of Georgia - Tifton 2015

B.S. Agricultural Mechanization and Business
Clemson University 2013

Profile

I am the Corn and Soybean Extension Specialist for the state of South Carolina. My current responsibilities include developing and managing an Extension (75%) and Research (25%) program that develops, assists, and educates South Carolina producers with agronomic corn and soybean information. Additional responsibilities include generating research-based information and recommendations specific to corn and soybean. I direct technical support staff, graduate students, and temporary workers.

Current Graduate Students:
Bennett Harrelson - Ph.D. Graduate Research Assistant P.E.S.
Jini Justice - M.S. Graduate Research Assistant P.E.S.

Clemson Agronomy Website: http://www.clemson.edu/extension/agronomy

SC Crops Blog: http://www.blogs.clemson.edu/sccrops/

Research Interests

- Corn and Soybean Cropping Systems and Agronomics
- Double Crop Systems
- Hybrid and Variety Evaluations
- Evaluation and Determination of Optimum Planter Downforce Settings
- Variable Rate Prescription Development - Directed Rx
- Evaluation of Soil Moisture Sensor Threshold Values
- Evaluation of Pesticide Efficacy when Applied at Specific Droplet Sizes
- Application Technologies - Liquid and Granular Fertilizer
- Management Zone Development

Extension and Outreach

- Provide timely, non-bias, research-based information to growers, consultants, and county agents at the state, national, and international levels
- Conduct both on-farm trials and demonstrations
- Present and share research and relevant information with end users through field days, workshops, meetings, social media, and newsletters
- Editor of the Corn and Soybean Production Guides
- Coordinator of the Clemson University County Hybrid Demonstration Trials

Publications

Peer-Reviewed Publications:
-Soignier, T.S., M.T. Plumblee, J.K. Greene, J.D. Mueller, and K.R. Kirk. 2025. Efficacy of Pesticides Used in Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) When Applied At Specific Droplet Sizes. J. of Cotton Science.

-Holladay, S.K.*, M.A. Jones, M.T. Plumblee, and M.W. Marshall. June 2024. Seed size, planting date, and seeding rate on cotton vigor and yield. Agronomy Journal 116(4):1966-1977. DOI: 10.1002/agj2.21603

-Holladay, S.K.*, M.W. Marshall, M.T. Plumblee, M.A. Jones, S. Narayanan, and M.D. Inman. May 2024. Can cotton seed size mitigate preemergence herbicides injury? Crop, Forage, and Turfgrass Management, 10, e20286. DOI:10.1002/cft2.20286

-Holladay, S.K.*, M.T. Plumblee, M.W. Marshall, M.A. Jones, and S. Narayanan. March 2024. Determining the optimum planting date x maturity group combination for soybean produced in South Carolina. Crop, Forage, and Turfgrass Management, 10, e20270 DOI: 10.1002/cft2.20270

-Bryant, C.J., D. Spencer, D.M. Gholson, M.T. Plumblee, D.M. Dodds, G.R. Oakley, D.Z. Reynolds, and L.J. Krutz. 2023. Development of a Soil Moisture Sensor Based Irrigation Scheduling Program for the Mid-Southern USA. Crop, Forage, and Turfgrass Management. https://doi.org/10.1002/cft2.20217

- Soignier, T.S., M.T. Plumblee, J.K. Greene, J.D. Mueller, and K.R. Kirk. 2022. The Evaluation of Planter Downforce on Emergence and Grain Yield in Soybean. Crop, Forage, and Turfgrass Management. https://doi.org/10.1002/cft2.20186

- Plumblee, M.T., D.M. Dodds, L.J. Krutz, A.L Catchot, J.T. Irby, and J.N. Jenkins. 2021. Optimum Irrigation Termination Timing in Furrow Irrigated Cotton. J. of Cotton Sci. 25:1-6

- Plumblee, M.T., D.M. Dodds, L.J. Krutz, T.B. Raper, A.S. Jones, A.L. Catchot, J.T. Irby, and J.N. Jenkins. 2020. Effect of Physical Damage to Early- and Late-Maturing Cotton Cultivars. Agron. J. doi:10.1002/agj2.20104

- Plumblee, M.T., D.M. Dodds, L.J. Krutz, A.L. Catchot, J.T. Irby, and J.N. Jenkins. 2019. Effect of Foliar Applied Nitrogen to Cotton with Artificial Terminal and Node Removal. J. Cotton Sci. 22:225-230.

- Plumblee, M.T., D.M. Dodds, L.J. Krutz, A.L. Catchot, J.T. Irby, and J.N. Jenkins. 2019. Determining the Optimum Irrigation Schedule in Furrow Irrigated Cotton using Soil Moisture Sensors. Crop, Forage, and Turfgrass Management. doi:10.2134/cftm2018.06.0047

- Plumblee, M.T., R.S. Tubbs, E.P. Prostko, and N.B. Smith. 2018. Evaluation of Seeding Rate and Cultivar Effects on Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) Seeded in 76-cm Row Spacing. Peanut Science. Vol. 45, No. 1, pp. 32-37. doi:10.3146/PS17-16.1

Extension Publications:
- Plumblee, M.T., B.S. Farmaha, F. R. Jones, M.W. Marshall, S. Mickey, J.D. Mueller, N.B. Smith, and A.P. Turner. 2022. 2022 South Carolina Corn Production Guide. Clemson Cooperative Extension, Clemson, SC.

-Plumblee, M.T., B.S. Farmaha, J.K. Greene, M.W. Marshall, S. Mickey, J.D. Mueller, N.B. Smith, and A.P. Turner. 2021. 2021 South Carolina Soybean Production Guide. Clemson Cooperative Extension, Clemson, SC.

- Harrelson, B.C., J.D. Mueller, and M.T. Plumblee. 2022. Common and Southern Rust. Clemson (SC): Clemson Cooperative Extension, Land Grant Press by Clemson Extension; May 2022.

- Plumblee, M.T., B.C. Harrelson. 2022. Visual Guide to Soybean Growth Stages. Clemson (SC): Clemson Cooperative Extension, Land Grant Press by Clemson Extension; 2022 May.

- Plumblee, M.T., K.R. Kirk, M.A. Jones, A.B. Crouch, C.W. Davis Jr., and J.K. Croft. 2020. Precision Agriculture: Cotton Picker Yield Monitor Calibration. Clemson (SC): Clemson Cooperative Extension, Land-Grant Press by Clemson Extension; 2020 May. LGP 1057. http://lgpress.clemson.edu/publication/precision-agriculture-cotton-picker-yield-monitor-calibration/.

- Plumblee, M.T., K.R. Kirk, A.B. Crouch, and D.H. Free. 2020. Precision Agriculture: Grain Combine Yield Monitor Calibration. Clemson (SC): Clemson Cooperative Extension, Land-Grant Press by Clemson Extension; 2020 Apr. LGP 1038. http://lgpress.clemson.edu/publication/precision-agriculture-grain-combine-yield-monitor-calibration/.

Web-based Calculators:
- Plumblee, M.T., K.R. Kirk, and T. McAlhany. 2019. Clemson Watermark Calculator. https://precisionag.sites.clemson.edu/Calculators/Irrigation/WatermarkCalculator/

- Kirk, K.R., M.T. Plumblee, and T. McAlhany. 2019. Clemson Lime Rate Calculator. https://precisionag.sites.clemson.edu/Calculators/Fertility/LimeRec/

- Kirk, K.R., M.T. Plumblee, and T. McAlhany. 2019. Clemson Soil Acidification
Calculator. https://precisionag.sites.clemson.edu/Calculators/Fertility/SoilAcidification/

Links

SC Soybean Production Guide
SC Soybean Information Website
South Carolina Crops Blog
SC Corn Production Guide
SC Corn Information Website

Meet Michael Plumblee