Specialists Speaking- Tyson Raper
Tyson Raper
TENNESSEE
Tennessee’s 2026 cotton crop has been a pleasant one to walk. A decent mid-April window allowed several to slip a few more April acres in than normal. Although they emerged from a cool, damp start to May a little thinner than some would like, they quickly turned the corner and currently represent our most promising acres. Early and mid May acres are not far behind and have great potential.
Retention is just now (as I write this on the 11th of August) beginning to slide. Up until a week ago, many were still reporting retention in the 90% range. Most of our acres are very near cutout, so some physiological shed should be expected now. We have some dry pockets, but large rainfall events over the weekend rumbled through many farms. We will still need a rainfall event or two to finish this crop, but growing conditions have been generally very good for Tennessee in 2026.
Keep an eye out on news.utcrops.com for defoliation recommendations as we move into mid-September; we will probably be making some of those decisions before Oct.
Tyson Raper
TENNESSEE
