By mid-June, we reached a critical time for our cotton crop in terms of preserving yield potential as a result of moisture stress. This is not the norm for Arkansas. Some fields continued to produce nodes close to what...
Very little cotton was planted in April this season in Arkansas. Most of our April cotton was planted the last two or three days of the month when planting conditions went from poor to very good. They continued to...
Changing weather patterns have again shaken up the 2018 planting season in the San Joaquin Valley. The good news is we finally got some rain and snowpack in the late winter and very early spring, along with promise of...
As we move into spring, there appears to be widespread optimism for cotton in North Carolina. The 2017 season was successful for most growers, and with the new program and higher prices, the outlook for cotton is strong.
With that...
CALIFORNIA
Heading into the 2018 growing season, the biggest “maybe” out there again is irrigation water supplies and lack of rain and snow to date. Water supply issues are not yet a “done deal” for 2018. We are still hoping...
CALIFORNIA
The remaining winter and early spring months may bring some rain or snow, but weather patterns in late 2017 and early 2018 look like a dry prelude to the 2018 planting season. So far this winter, central California has...
CALIFORNIA
Heading into winter, the question of uncertain irrigation water supplies in California’s San Joaquin Valley is again creeping into conversations due to the warm, dry fall of 2017. For many SJV growers who during the extended drought invested in...
ARKANSAS
The National Agricultural Statistics Service October Crop Production Report estimated Arkansas cotton production at 1 million bales, unchanged from the September forecast but 160,000 bales more than last year. Yield is expected to average 1,096 pounds per harvested acre,...
ARIZONA
Harvest season is upon us. As pickers enter the field, questions related to heat stress effects begin to be answered. Several consecutive days of heat stress during late June and mid-July had a significant impact on boll retention and...
ARIZONA
As the cotton-growing season winds down and final irrigations have been made, we begin to look at decisions for harvest preparation and harvest aids application. There are two main components of this decision, and each can be influenced by...
ARIZONA
In my travels around the state over recent weeks, I have observed cotton fields at all stages of development. The crop in western Arizona has now been terminated and is being prepped for harvest. The remainder of the state...
The National Agricultural Statistics Service October Crop Production report estimated Arkansas cotton production to be at 1,088 pounds lint per acre, unchanged from last month but down 4 pounds from 2015. This exceeds our 5-year average of 1,073 pounds lint per acre by 15 pounds.
Our crop continues to be ahead of schedule. As about half of our crop has been harvested this season, the 5-year average for the same date was just shy of 30 percent harvested.
Reports of fiber quality have been good. Lack of rainfall during much of the harvest season has resulted in excellent color grades. Just over 45 percent has received a color grade of 31 or better. About 80 percent of the bales classed have a leaf grade of 4 or less. Micronaire values this season have averaged 4.6 with less than 17 percent in the discount range of 5 or greater.
In Arkansas, we generally expect to see our early crop outyield our later crop. This is not what most farmers are experiencing this season. The extended wet and cloudy August weather came just as our early crop was starting to open. Reports of 1.25 to 1.5 bales per acre were heard from our early cotton as the occurrence of boll rot and hard lock was great. Fortunately, yields improved as harvest progressed. Our good fields are yielding in excess of 3 bales per acre. The 4-bale yield potential we had in many fields the first part of August slipped away.
CALIFORNIA
California Central Valley farmers have finally been blessed with some decent rain, snowpack and irrigation water supplies for this year. Although we have water, variable cool weather periods mean a limited acreage of cotton seed was in the ground...
ARIZONA
Deciding on the appropriate time to begin planting cotton in the spring can be a difficult decision. Warm, early spring days will sometimes provide an “itch” to get into the field and start planting. However, warm spring days can...
The National Agricultural Statistics Service October Crop Production report estimated Arkansas cotton production to be at 1,088 pounds lint per acre, unchanged from last month but down 4 pounds from 2015. This exceeds our 5-year average of 1,073 pounds lint per acre by 15 pounds.
Our crop continues to be ahead of schedule. As about half of our crop has been harvested this season, the 5-year average for the same date was just shy of 30 percent harvested.
Reports of fiber quality have been good. Lack of rainfall during much of the harvest season has resulted in excellent color grades. Just over 45 percent has received a color grade of 31 or better. About 80 percent of the bales classed have a leaf grade of 4 or less. Micronaire values this season have averaged 4.6 with less than 17 percent in the discount range of 5 or greater.
In Arkansas, we generally expect to see our early crop outyield our later crop. This is not what most farmers are experiencing this season. The extended wet and cloudy August weather came just as our early crop was starting to open. Reports of 1.25 to 1.5 bales per acre were heard from our early cotton as the occurrence of boll rot and hard lock was great. Fortunately, yields improved as harvest progressed. Our good fields are yielding in excess of 3 bales per acre. The 4-bale yield potential we had in many fields the first part of August slipped away.
