Specialists Speaking- Guy Collins
Guy Collins
North Carolina
The last week of August was incredibly hot and dry, much like most of August, and this weather essentially forced the crop into a sharp cutout and ended the development of any major top crop or later-set bolls. Albeit spotty, a few intense rains came over Labor Day weekend, which will help fill out the bolls that remained and were retained. All in all, the crop is variable, but still has good yield potential. Now that we’re in September, we wont necessarily refuse rain, as some is still needed in places, but as always, we’d prefer more sunny skies than not from this point forward. Hardlocking due to prolonged wet conditions, or tropical weather, are always a concern in September and October. Time will tell if they will be a concern for us in 2026.
The heat and absence of rain in many parts of the North Carolina Cotton Belt during August noticeably accelerated maturity. As I write this on Sept. 8, earlier-planted fields have several open bolls, and very few fields remain to be blooming. At this point in time, the crop is trending early, and if weather continues to promote earliness, we’ll be defoliating soon.
As of today, the forecast holds a few sporadic chances of rain throughout most of September with warm-to-mild temperatures. With an early crop that is completely cutout, and warmer temperatures and any soil moisture at all, regrowth is expected to be a challenge. This is nothing new, but it hasn’t been a serious issue to deal with for the past several years. Likewise, given the periods of dry weather earlier in the summer, residual nitrogen may contribute more to regrowth than normal. Regrowth can usually be handled with the right rate of TDZ if defoliating in warmer weather, or with TDZ plus diuron in cooler weather.
Application volume should be at 20 gallons per acre preferably, or no less than 15 gallons per acre, using a flat fan, twin fan, or similar nozzle that provides a good mixture of droplet sizes. Hollow cones may be better if the grower is willing to spray at slow speeds necessary for cone tips to perform. Nozzles that only apply larger-sized droplets should be avoided since we are trying to adequately reach the basal regrowth buds lower in the canopy.
