Production

Weather went from extremely wet to extremely hot and dry across most of Texas, according to the Texas State Climatologist. Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon, College Station, said the weather turned from record-breaking rainfall in the spring to being among the driest and hottest summers on record. The jet stream migrated north, away from Texas, and tropical thunderstorms didn’t deliver in the ... Read More »

• By Bill Robertson • Another challenging season is starting to wind down. While our extended planting window resulted in a widely variable crop with regard to stage of development, Mother Nature usually has a way of narrowing the gap as we approach the finish line and this year is no exception. In Arkansas, our target date for harvest completion ... Read More »

• By Tyson Raper • I’ve resisted writing this post for 5 years because I think estimating lint yield from boll counts only provides enough insight to differentiate between poor, decent and good cotton. Still, I understand the temptation to count one’s chickens before they hatch. In this blog, I highlight a few issues with estimates and define the number ... Read More »

• By Mary Jane Buerkle • In its first official crop production estimates for the Texas High Plains this season, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service pegged the 2019 upland cotton crop at 4.93 million bales harvested from 3.63 million acres. Planted acres are estimated at 4.44 million, reflecting a projected 18% abandonment rate, which is about ... Read More »

• By Guy Collins and Keith Edmisten • Statewide, the 2019 crop continues to be the most variable crop that we’ve seen in quite some time, primarily due to planting date, timing and duration of drought/heat stress, and spotty rains. In some areas, the crop varies widely within a small area, while other areas are somewhat more uniform. This variability ... Read More »

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service released its August acreage report recently showing updated acreage from 14 states that were not finished planting during the agency’s initial report June 28. The weather-related delays affected cotton planting in Arkansas. Overall, NASS estimates cotton production will be up 23% nationwide compared to 2018. All cotton production is forecast at ... Read More »

• By Lindsey Thiessen • Cercospora leaf spot of cotton (Fig. 1), caused Cercospora gossypina (syn. Mycosphaerella gossypina), has been observed across North Carolina cotton growing regions. Foliar symptoms include reddish lesions that enlarge to have white to light brown centers. These symptoms may also be similar to other foliar diseases, like Stemphylium leaf spot or Alternaria leaf spot. Symptoms ... Read More »