Specialists Speaking- Brian Pieralisi
Brian Pieralisi
MISSISSIPPI
I am writing this Aug. 5, 2026. Our crop is looking pretty good despite a few early setbacks. June rains put the crop under some heavy weed pressure, but all of that is behind us now and we can almost see the finish line. USDA projects Mississippi to have 430,000 acres of cotton in 2026, but I think that’s a little liberal; I hope that I am wrong. With that said, most of our cotton was planted by the middle of May, with a third or less of the acres planted during the first couple of days in June.
Overall, the crop looks good. The earlier cotton is past cutout and mostly past the economic injury threshold from insect pests. July brought timely rains and set the crop up for high yielding potential. Now we need mostly a dry fall to get the crop out.
On another note. Jassid has been fairly quiet. Last week at a south Mississippi field day, we did pick up some Jassid in the fields, but they didn’t seem to be a problem yet. It is still being closely monitored and tracked. Also like last year, we have been seeing an increase in calls regarding bollworms of various sizes surviving on 3-gene Bt cotton. We have been advised to increase scouting, document unusual survival, identify the varieties, and follow the established damage and larvae thresholds.
Good luck finishing out the crop; here’s to a successful harvest!
Brian Pieralisi
MISSISSIPPI
