KEITH EDMISTEN
NORTH CAROLINA
Guy Collins and I were talking about the crop this morning (June 8). We concluded that we are in a pretty good spot right now. It has even been a little more boring than usual for us, which is a good thing!
While this was not the best planting season ever, growers managed to plant their desired acreage before the crop insurance deadline. The planting season has definitely been on the dry side, but overall, we have had enough moisture to get decent stands. The dryer conditions have helped the root systems develop well, which should help us with dry periods later in the season when the plants need more moisture.
Our early planted cotton is close to squaring, and most of the crop should be squaring by mid-June, setting us up to bloom in a normal time frame. We should see nitrogen applications coming soon, with potential Mepiquat applications later in June where needed. Most cotton should be growing rapidly enough to outgrow thrips damage on early planted cotton and soon on late-planted cotton. ∆
KEITH EDMISTEN
NORTH CAROLINA