Specialists Speaking
Midseason Management ALABAMA Steve M. Brown
This is supposed to be about midseason management. I listen to my esteemed colleague from Arizona Dr. Randy Norton talk about growing cotton in the desert. I am amazed at what they know and how they go about producing the crop. It’s like following a recipe. So many aspects of their production system seem precise and exact. Yes, they are subject to seasonal variations in heat units, which affects their productivity, and they probably worry about water. But more often than not, they make big yields and pick high-quality cotton under near-perfect conditions. Almost like growing cotton in a greenhouse. Precise, exact, predictable — it’s not like that here. I don’t mean to minimize the challenges growers face in other environments, but I want to paint a contrast. In the Lower Southeast, weather and pest variables are numerous. They fluctuate WILDLY. We know how to grow cotton. We have our recipe, so to speak. But with changing conditions and pest issues, we must figure out how to manage this crop amid a unique growing environment. Maximizing our opportunities requires adjusting as the season progresses, carefully thinking through what might be tweaked, altered or scrapped altogether. Championship ball teams sometimes win because they dominate their challengers, but often — especially with intense competition — they win because they make the best adjustments. They figure out how to do some things better to meet the specific tests imposed upon them. Our crop is late. Appropriate adjustments typically mean being more conservative with nitrogen, more aggressive with plant growth regulators, more vigilant with insect management, and minimizing stress if we can irrigate. We make these adjustments with considerations for rainfall, temperature, crop progress, calendar date, etc. Tweaking. Altering. Changing. Adjusting. One grower said to me recently, “No two years are the same; you’ve got to deal with what’s happening here and now.” Precisely. cottonbrown@ auburn.edu
ARKANSAS Bill Robertson
While at this point of the season in 2020 we could have described the crop as being late, we are just as late or later and far wetter in 2021. For some, about 20 inches in just a few days wetter. The March Prospective Plantings report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Agricultural Statistics Service estimated cotton plantings in Arkansas at 490,000 acres, down 7% from the 525,000 acres planted last year. With planting delays experienced this season and favorable crop alternatives, our acres will probably land near 450,000 acres, down 15% from last year. Losses due to flooding will most likely result in greater abandonment rates than we typically see in Arkansas. We expect to see flowers by July 4 on May 1 planted cotton. We likely will see just a few flowers by Independence Day this year. With more than half our crop going in the ground the last half of May coupled with record breaking cold temperatures over Memorial Day weekend, first flowers on many fields may be as late as July 15-20. Ideally, at first flower we will find nine to 10 first-position fruit above the first white flower. This verifies we have the foundation to establish and develop high yield and fiber quality potentials. Our goal is to maintain no less than 80% retention going into first flower. With our current maturity status, we have no cushion for mistakes. We must concentrate
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COTTON FARMING | JULY 2021
on the basics. This includes avoiding excessive nitrogen rates and striving for well-timed irrigation. Maintaining a balance between vegetative and reproductive growth will help optimize earliness and preserve yield and fiber potential. An effective fruiting window of three weeks between first flower and cutout (NAWF=5) will provide the yield and earliness we need this season. Contact your local county Extension agent for more information. brobertson@uaex.edu
FLORIDA David Wright
June is the month to fight weeds in cotton and July is the time to manage growth, finish up fertility needs and control late season weed escapes. In fields that normally have high growth rates, first applications of growth regulators should be applied at eighth node or before and around 15-18 inches plant height. Last nitrogen applications should be made at the latest by or before the third week of bloom. Our data shows that N put out for the first application after this time, such as fifth or sixth week of bloom, would not yield any more than cotton with no N applied. Better to put out N early — from squaring until to first bloom — which would be about from mid-June to July 1 when blooming starts. There are many new commercial cotton varieties that have three Bt genes for insect control. Fields should be scouted for problem insects and weeds. Control weeds when they are as small as possible to get better results and often use lower herbicide rates. Much of our cotton was planted under dry conditions. Weed escapes often get by growers who are busy with other management duties, so directed sprays may be needed to control large weeds. The latter part of May was dry, so many farmers finished planting their crop in June after the rains came. However, the cotton came up and is doing well. If timely rains continue in August and early September, the cotton crop has good potential. wright@ufl.edu
GEORGIA Camp Hand
We finally made it through planting. It was a rough stretch of being too cool and wet, followed by too hot and dry, followed by too wet, but Georgia growers did not waver. At this point, much of our crop is squaring, and we need to shift to midseason management. Here are a few thoughts: Weed control at squaring or flowering should be nearly complete. Although many will opt for a third postemergence application over the top, one of the best choices for resistance management is a layby application. Diuron plus MSMA is the go-to for Palmer amaranth control, but glyphosate can be substituted for MSMA to help with grass control. Envoke herbicide can be added to either mix for morningglory control. Dr. Bob Kemerait says it is time to start thinking about foliar diseases, such as target spot and areolate mildew. If necessary, initiate fungicide applications at flowering. Sidedress nitrogen should be applied between squaring and first flower. Dr. Glen Harris recommends applying N closer to first square for growers who think they lost some nitrogen from the big rains we had at the end of April. Harris also says there is no need to panic and sidedress a lot of potassium. It isn’t as leachable as nitrogen, and the University of Georgia trials have shown minimal benefits from split potassium applications. It is time to start thinking plant growth regulator applications. In COTTONFARMING.COM
