Specialists Speaking

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 said, we all remember the lessons learned from the challenges of recent years, one of which is how to plant ... Read More »

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 for some rain and snow and better decisions and release of workable amounts of water for California farmers out of ... Read More »

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 had relatively normal temperatures but extraordinarily dry conditions. Uncertain rainfall and snow forecasts raise concerns about irrigation water supplies, and ... Read More »

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 improved groundwater wells and increased capacities, this mostly affects the degree to which they may have to rely on groundwater ... Read More »

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, unchanged from last month but up 21 pounds from 2016 and slightly less than our five-year average of 1,101 pounds ... Read More »

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 pollination. Higher incidence of “hooked-beak” bolls has been observed across the state. This phenomenon is a result of poor pollination ... Read More »

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 a variety of factors. The two components are timing and material. Both can be influenced by many factors including crop ... Read More »