Cotton Quality and Yields

Charles Burmester Contract Agronomist Decatur, Ala. I was raised on a small farm in Alabama where we always grew cotton and became very familiar with the crop at an early age. In, fact, my mother made me my own “pick sack” when...

ARKANSAS The National Agricultural Statistics Service November Crop Production report lowered our yield estimate for Arkansas cotton to 1,124 pounds of lint per acre down from last month’s estimate of 1,218 pounds of lint per acre. The November estimate is...

It’s The Time Of The Season Late fall, early winter is the time of the season for slowing down a bit after a hectic harvest and contemplating which varieties will have the best fit in your operation in the upcoming...

In recent years, the presence of glyphosate-resistant pigweed in Mid-South cotton has compelled producers to grow glufosinate (Liberty)-tolerant varieties. In 2015, more than 85 percent of cotton acreage in Arkansas was planted to varieties that are tolerant to glufosinate. This acreage included 11 percent planted to XtendFlex (resistant to dicamba) varieties. However, dicamba applications beyond the current burndown label were not allowed. Almost half of the transgenic entries in the 2015 Arkansas Cotton Variety Test were resistant to dicamba or 2,4-D (Enlist) – a clear indication of the direction of variety development. The Enlist trait is fully registered in the United States, and the herbicide is labeled in all Mid-South states except Tennessee. Import approvals for some Far East countries are still being pursued. We expect a limited release of Enlist cotton in 2016. It is expected, but at this point still uncertain whether labels will allow spraying of dicamba beyond burndown on XtendFlex cotton in 2016. Thus, producers should make their variety choices accordingly and follow all label requirements. Selection of varieties then returns to long-established principles of choosing varieties that are likely to produce stable, high yields of premium quality cotton – regardless of their transgene conf iguration.

The ABCs of variety selection may start with letters behind a variety name denoting insect resistance or herbicide tolerance technology, but they certainly do not end there. Beyond the letters are complex characteristics controlled by multiple genes – yield, fiber quality, stress response, disease resistance, plant type and relative maturity. “A” stands for area-appropriate. Consider performance data generated from the same area as your farm. Know specific field production constraints and choose varieties with appropriate disease resistance, nematode tolerance and moisture stress response. “B” is for broadening risk with more than one variety in more than one maturity class so harvest on large farms can be staggered. Broadened risk improves the odds of catching beneficial rains and avoiding widespread hail damage. “C” is for control. Stay grounded with input capabilities. Highhorsepower varieties in low-input situations can lead to quality problems. “Control” reminds me of the first cotton farmer to ask my advice on variety selection – my father, who passed away in May. Professional presentation of yield data did not impress him. He told me, “I can make these varieties yield. Show me something with the potential for good fiber quality. I have less control over that.”

ARKANSAS The National Agricultural Statistics Service October Crop Production report kept the yield estimate for Arkansas cotton at 1,218 lbs lint/A. Last month, I felt this estimate was too high for a number of reasons. However, as our harvest is...

Ken Legé PhytoGen Cotton Development Specialist Lubbock, Texas   Prior to joining PhytoGen, I had noticed that the germplasm coming out of PhytoGen’s robust West Texas breeding program that will serve the entire Southwest was producing high, consistent yields and was well suited...

Has this been an unusual year for cotton producers in many parts of the Belt? Most would agree with that assessment. First, there is the frustrating cotton price that has stayed in the 60-cent range for months. Then came the floods in Texas and the Mid- South and dry conditions in the Southeast and West. One theme, however, remained consistent – the need for an effective strategy that could deal with weed resistance, namely pigweed. While most producers understand the concept of “starting clean and staying clean,” technology is assisting in the quest to reduce production costs even more. You’d be hard pressed to find a more forward-thinking farmer than Jason Luckey of Humboldt, Tenn., in the western part of the state. He, father Rege, brother Ken and nephew Zac have consistently adhered to a diversified crop mix involving cotton, corn, soybeans and wheat. They rarely increase acreage for any one crop and have succeeded in their dryland operation by staying with this philosophy.

BY GLEN HARRIS TIFTON, GA. The fertilizer spreader truck rolls across the field spitting out a custom blend of N-P-K, secondary and micronutrients based on grid soil sampling, followed later by the sidedress rig equipped with sensors to measure plant...

A new Farm Bureau advocacy website is giving farmers and ranchers a simple way to “Get a Move On” for GMOs. Launched recently, GetaMoveOn.fb.org allows producers to support a national, science-based labeling standard similar to the approach taken in the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act (H.R. 1599). “This website has a very specific function: To motivate farmers and ranchers to take action in support of important innovation in agriculture,” says Andrew Walmsley, American Farm Bureau Federation biotechnology specialist. “Whether you grow corn and soybeans in the Midwest, cotton in the South, dairy and potatoes in the Northeast or apples in the West, access to crop traits that resist pests, diseases

By Tommy Horton, Editor How important is cotton production in Georgia? And is it still a viable commodity when prices dip into the 60- cent range? Those are legitimate questions to ask any farmer growing the crop in 2014. And...

The deflating effects of aflatoxin on cottonseed prices in the West continue to affect producers along the Colorado River and Central Arizona. Hundred-dollar spreads between clean and unclean seed are not uncommon in a region where seed prices consistently rise above those in the rest of the Cotton Belt. These days, even though cottonseed plays a larger role in the economic mix of the cotton crop, aflatoxin seemingly draws less attention with producers than it does with those who market the cottonseed for them.

Remember the names of Vance and Mandie Smith. What they accomplished on their cotton farm in 2013 was nothing short of spectacular. No one in their part of Texas recalls a yield on an upland field that came close to equalling the 6.9 bales per acre they achieved.

Our business is about making high fashion cotton garments. Yet, in my 25 years in the industry, I have never met a farmer or anyone from the cotton business. I wonder if the wine industry could survive if there was no connection to the grape. The disconnect between the apparel producer and fiber supplier is more than a little peculiar to me, so it is very satisfying to learn about the FiberMax impact and business in the United States

The NCC Planting Intentions Survey shows less than a one percent increase in acreage for Missouri. Based on past reports, this may or may not happen with a lot depending on the weather. In the past, I have noticed that the Missouri intentions are usually overestimated.