The past six days of rain found the vast majority of our Upper-MidSouth cotton crop defoliated and open. Unfortunately, these conditions supported emergence of cottonseed while still within the boll- commonly referred to as sprouting. In this blog, I briefly cover best management practices to protect the existing fiber quality. Continue reading
Our forecast for the next 7 days contains ideal conditions for defoliating and opening bolls. In this blog, I cover my current 1 and 2 shot go-to mixes and briefly describe how I would approach defoliation without thidiazuron. Continue reading
https://youtu.be/GKnNTc3Qmxw
Although US cotton currently has a reputation as one of the least contaminated sources in the world, USDA-AMS Cotton Programs reported more ‘other extraneous matter’ during 2017 than ever before- primarily due to plastic. Beginning in 2018, a new remark for plastic contamination will be included in the classing process. Unfortunately, the negative financial implications associated with receiving a plastic remark could potentially spread beyond a single bale. As a result, I’ve personally heard several refer to plastic contamination as the biggest single threat to the US cotton industry. Continue reading
The 2018 Mid-South Cotton Defoliation Guide is now available online. You can access the guide by clicking the above image or any of the embedded links within this post. This guide was compiled by Extension Specialists from throughout the Mid-South and is updated yearly.
Authors: Tyson Raper, Avat Shekoofa, and John Snider.
Over the past few weeks, reports of thumbnail-sized boll abortion have emerged in some areas of West Tennessee. While square and small boll abortion is very common every year, recent reports have indicated many of these aborting bolls are not shedding; instead, the small, dead bolls are remaining on the plants. This phenomenon is often referred to as ‘boll freeze’, ‘boll dangle’, or most commonly, ‘cavitation’.
Figure 1: Severe drought stress in this plant resulted in the cavitation of small reproductive structures. Continue reading
At the moment, cotton appears to be growing almost as fast as palmer amaranth; rains and abnormally warm temperatures have promoted rapid growth and the second (or third) application of Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) are currently being applied. With our current growing conditions, forecast, and planted cultivars, I’m applying and recommending aggressive rates; now that the root zone has expanded and N uptake has begun to increase exponentially, expect rapid plant growth to continue in areas which have adequate moisture. This blog highlights points to be considered when attempting to regulate growth in 2018. Continue reading
I’ve received several calls this week requesting information on whether or not to keep injured cotton and management after the injury. In this brief article, I will cover the ‘keep or discard’ decision and briefly cover best management practices after the decision to keep the crop has been made. Depending on your situation, you may need to document the injury and/or keep a portion of the field to determine the yield penalty. That information is beyond the scope of this article but should be available from your insurance agent or attorney. Continue reading
I’ve visited with several over the past few days who either started planting yesterday (4/30), who plan to begin today (5/1), or who will be planting by tomorrow (5/2). While we have a few very early planting-date trials established here in Jackson, none of our large-plot trials have been planted and none of our small-plot work requiring normal planting dates have been planted either. That will change for my program today (5/1). Continue reading