ARIZONA | Randy Norton
As we enter the early stages of crop development this season, we will begin to see the appearance of the first pinhead squares. The crop will be quickly progressing from a vegetative stage to a reproductive stage. The occurrence...
TEXAS | Ben McKnight
As I write this March 6, approximately 78% of Texas is still in either drought or abnormally dry conditions. Conditions in the Coastal Bend and Lower Rio Grande Valley are listed as being in moderate drought, along...
NORTH CAROLINA | Guy Collins
As I write this Jan. 29, we are preparing for our winter cotton meeting season (aka “the BBQ circuit”), which begins next week. Thankfully, most growers are coming out of another good year for cotton with...
GEORGIA | Camp Hand
One year ago, in Cotton Farming magazine, each cotton specialist across the belt discussed fine-tuning plans for the 2022 season. Many of us were singing the high input cost blues. Inputs were high, but the cotton price was...
ARIZONA | Randy Norton
Variety selection is probably one of the most important decisions contributing to the success of a cotton crop. As part of our University of Arizona variety testing program, we have observed as much as a bale per acre difference in performance...
ALABAMA | Steve M. Brown
I’m ready to sit down. We’ve almost made it to the end of 2022.
My work crew this season consisted of my grad student Sam and me. Like many farmers, we couldn’t find good summer help, so...
TEXAS | Murilo Maeda
Cotton harvest has already started in West Texas (in our northern counties) as I write this in early October, and by the time you receive this issue of Cotton Farming, harvest activities should be well underway across...
NORTH CAROLINA | Keith Edmisten
Growers should be checking fields for boll maturity to get an idea of which fields can be defoliated first. The easiest way to get a good start scheduling fields for defoliation is to check for nodes...
FLORIDA | David Wright
It has been a blessing working with UF Extension/research for 45 years (with retirement approaching Sept. 15, 2022) — and for 38 years with cotton growers in Florida.
In the early 1980s, Florida only had 2,000 to 3,000...
ALABAMA | Steve M. Brown
What a wild season! Wet conditions delayed initial field activities, but once planting began, we soon ran short on moisture, challenging efforts to achieve adequate stands. June included some of the hottest early summer temperatures in...
ALABAMA | Steve M. Brown
Conditions have improved markedly since early May. Maybe I’m alone in wondering, “Will it ever rain again?” O, me, of little faith. I’ve had that mindset before, but it has always rained… eventually. How easy to...
FLORIDA | David Wright
Cotton crop production costs have historically increased 3% to 5% yearly, but they have doubled for the year 2021 to 2022 for most inputs. Cotton technology helps farmers manage the crop through the technology in the seed...
ARIZONA | Randy Norton
Nearly all the 2022 crop is in the ground with some of the earliest planted cotton in the western reaches of the state nearing first bloom. However, most of the crop across Arizona is not even to...
ALABAMA Steve M. Brown
In the summer of 1973, my parents purchased me a new car. It cost just over $2,300 and was equipped with a manual “three-on-the-tree” transmission, heater and AM radio. It was the first year of new EPA...
FLORIDA David Wright
The plans for the 2022 cotton season are well underway. Many good Bollgard 3 varieties are available with many other technologies to help growers against nematodes, weeds and insects. Choosing the best varieties can increase profit by $50-200...
