Several in the Midsouth are dealing with cotton injured by exposure to 2,4-D.  Dr. Gaylon Morgan (Agronomist with Cotton Incorporated), Dr. Bradley Wilson (Cotton Specialist for the University of Missouri), Dr. Zachary Treadway (Cotton Specialist for the University of Arkansas), and I have walked a considerable number of acres in the Midsouth over the past week.  In this blog, we tackle many of the questions we’ve been asked concerning yield potential and management after injury.  We also provide some resources for those interested in reading more about what to expect. Continue reading →

Many in the area are just now in the thick of planting.  For those who have not yet put seed in the ground, please check my post from last week on seeding rate.  For those that were able to capitalize on our April window, you’ve already properly selected seeding rate and now you are looking at possibly a thrips spray or your first post application for weeds.  As normal, your crop looks ‘sickly’, having fought through a blackberry winter, cloudy conditions, and in some areas, additional rains that were not needed.  The second step of moving our cotton budget out of the red and into the black is recognizing inputs which provide a return on investment and those that do not.  Spoiler- most of the products that attempt to hitch a ride in the tank with your early season insect or weed control products often don’t pay for themselves.  In this post, I cover a few of the inputs we have evaluated to help you understand where not to invest.  Special thanks to Dr. Bradley Wilson and Dr. Brian Pieralisi for their contributions to this article.

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