Consultants Corner

John Richburg, Ph.D. Field Scientist R&D Coastal Crops – East, Dow AgroSciences Headland, Ala. Uncharacteristic to the Southeast, cotton growers in Alabama, Georgia and the Florida Panhandle have experienced isolated hot spots of tarnished plant bugs, prompting growers to be diligent in scouting...

John Norman John Norman Ag Consultation Weslaco, Texas My first work in pest management in cotton, other than the farm I was raised on in Cameron County, was with the USDA at Brownsville, helping to read results from insecticide trials. All...

The weather is usually far from consistent, but for the third year, we have seen a pattern of wet springs that make it difficult for Mid-South cotton growers to plant crops. They are forced to plant when Mother Nature allows between frequent rains. Often, planting conditions are far from ideal; perpetual wetness prevents staggering of plantings. Typically, the majority of cotton fields planted in the South Delta – from around Memphis farther south to the latitude of the Red River Valley in Louisiana – would have been planted by late April. Despite the reduced number of cotton acres throughout the Mid-South this year, the inability to stagger plantings and the timing of fertilizer and insecticide applications coming together simultaneously is making it challenging for growers to manage.

Wes Briggs Briggs Crop Servics, Inc. Bainbridge, GA While in high school, I spent my summers employed by crop protection companies as an ag laborer. After entering Mississippi State, I had the opportunity to work under Jack Reed and Randy Luttrell –...

Mike Lovelace Field Scientist, Dow AgroSciences Lubbock, Texas As with other farming regions, Texas growers are faced each year with a host of agronomic challenges, unpredictable weather and pest outbreaks that can impact their crops – and their profit potential....

Les Goodson Goodson Crop Consulting, LLC Monette, Ark. In 1998, while I was in high school, Dale Wells hired me to scout cotton. I guess something stuck, because this will be my 18th consecutive season to be scouting crops. After graduating from...

Dr. Robert Lemon PhytoGen Cotton Development Specialist Dow AgroSciences, East Texas I recently was visiting with some Upper Gulf Coast growers, reflecting on the outstanding cotton crops we’ve made over the past three years. We’ve had numerous growers break the three-...

What motivates a person to pursue a career as a cotton consultant? No matter how that question is posed, you might receive numerous answers. But, one familiar theme rings true for those who have chosen this career – commitment....

Joe Cely Cely Crop Consulting Pamplico, S.C. I was a county agent for 30 years with Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service. When I retired in 1996 here in Florence, I started consulting full-time. In 2004, my daughter, Ellen, joined me, and now...

My family was in the retail fertilizer application business, so I have been around agriculture all of my life. While I was in college, a local consultant in the Clarksdale area hired me and taught me how to scout...

Every year presents different growing conditions and new challenges, and 2014 was no exception. For some of the most troublesome pests, the university Extension experts predicted accurately that: Tarnished plant bugs were capable of surviving the harsh winter. Nonmigratory lepidopteron caterpillar...

This year, we started off with adequate rainfall, then it got dry. Plant bugs were pretty relentless all season, but we were able to manage them. We used a good bit of Transform and tankmixes with Transform, which did a superb job in cleaning them up. Most of our plant bug applications go out in the second week of squaring.

In 2014 2014 has been another radical weather year, being cooler and wetter than any year I recollect. We were able to get almost all the cotton planted during the first 10 days of May with very little replant necessary. Cotton grew off slowly and has crept along at a snail's pace all year. Although maturity of the later cotton is a concern, I constantly tell my growers that I would much rather have mid-80 degree highs and mid-60 degree lows than 75-80 degree lows and 100-plus degree highs.

"We do not learn from experience," philosopher John Dewey said. "We learn from reflecting on experience." As Texas cotton growers are in the midst of or nearing cotton harvest, this is an ideal time to gauge the success of the season and determine how to improve in the future. I always emphasize the importance of reflecting on what worked well over the past growing season to be ready for the next year.

Larry Walton Field Scientist, Dow AgroSciences Tupelo, Miss. Growers focused on maximizing cotton yield in the Mid-South must be prepared to manage plant bugs. For a successful ending to any season, Larry Walton says growers must plant on time, scout...