So far, 2020 is the year that keeps on giving. We can’t seem to catch a break, and most folks are ready to get this year behind us.
Despite all the challenges we’ve faced, we have a substantial top crop...
With limited irrigation water in many areas and some difficult early and midseason problems with lygus in parts of the San Joaquin Valley, we have a wide range of yields across fields this year. Under limited water situations and...
October is the main month for cotton harvest in Florida. There are often tropical storms or hurricanes that can affect harvest timing and result in low yield and quality even though a good crop is made through good management...
“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is a saying first attributed to a 1530s animal husbandry book in reference to sheep dogs. I’d like to think it doesn’t apply to cotton growers and ag professionals.
With that assumption,...
Florida cotton has good yield potential at this point. Weather has been mostly good for growing and fruit set. Many of our growers use conservation tillage when planting but may plant into winter fallow weeds while some plant into...
The 2020 season has been a challenging one thus far to say the least. As I write this June 2, our acreage is noticeably down due to prices and especially to the abnormally uncooperative planting weather throughout the large...
The hummingbirds that appeared in our backyard in March developed goose down to survive April and early May. Cotton seed planted in early May in North Alabama needed jackets and waders, while further south, they desperately thirsted for water....
As of mid-April, early planted cotton in the Texas Rio Grande Valley was squaring. There have been some isolated reports of early pressure from thrips and aphids. Early season scouting for these pests and understanding economic thresholds for each...
With planting underway and small seedlings emerging across the state, it is important to remember there are many things that can occur in the field affecting the survivability of those seedlings. Among those is seedling disease. Disease pressure can...
As we approach cotton-planting season, growers should be aware of all factors influencing initial crop establishment. By now, most have already selected varieties. It is time to focus on pieces of information that can assist you in making decisions...
Recently, I’ve been in meetings in which my colleague Eddie McGriff has preached to corn growers about high-end production. Among his points are planter maintenance and precision planting. My take (with a touch of humor) is that the yield...
I don’t like thick stands of cotton. What looks just right in May is too thick in August. And I sure don’t like hill-dropping that results in three or more plants per hill. I can’t stand spindly stalks. Think...
With the challenges of 2019 behind us, I am sure this year in cotton production will be one we will not want to revisit any time soon. For most cotton producers across the state, it was one of lower-than-...
As I write this mid-November, harvest has not been progressing as expected in West Texas and the Rolling Plains, primarily due to unfavorable weather conditions.
In the Rolling Plains of Texas, Dr. Emi Kimura reports from Vernon that their first...
In October, scientists from universities, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, seed companies, Cotton Incorporated and the National Cotton Council convened to discuss the knowns and unknowns about cotton leaf roll disease. Considerable information has been generated over the past...
