Harvest

• By Seshadri Ramkuma • Yields in the High Plains of Texas are expected to be below what was originally forecast. “Yields are 25% to 30% off the normal,” said Mark Brown, director of field services for Lubbock, Texas-based Plains Cotton Growers Inc. During the Nov. 15 meeting of all the stakeholders from the cotton sector, discussion centered on this ... Read More »

After a mild weekend of sunny skies and temperatures in the high 50s, much of Arkansas found itself dealing with widespread rains and falling mercury throughout Monday. Tuesday, Nov. 12, the state awoke to a morning that declared itself as “winter” in no uncertain terms. The National Weather Service described Little Rock’s post-sunrise temperature as “22, feels like 9” degrees ... Read More »

• By Tyson Raper • With the arctic blast in the forecast and the substantial number of cotton acres left in the field, several have recently asked about how to keep water in their cotton pickers moisture system from freezing. Some operators occasionally mix a small percentage of methanol with water to lower the freezing point of water, but extreme ... Read More »

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 year or so. Still, there is much to be determined. This viral disease was first identified from cotton in east central ... Read More »

For me, Nov. 1 signals the approach of Thanksgiving and brings to mind all the ways in which we are blessed. It’s ironic to be writing this with only a scrap of filtered light coming through the window and a bare minimum of battery power on my computer following the ferocious winds that blew through, causing an electrical outage. But ... Read More »

• By Tyson Raper • The forecast lows for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights in Tennessee have bounced around over the past few days, but this morning they included a 26, 28, 28 and 31 degrees. I’ve passed many fields with a large percentage of large bolls in the upper canopy still closed. Today (10/29) is the day to ... Read More »

Parts of Mississippi’s landscape are turning white, but unlike some northern areas, this coloration is caused by cotton bolls opening for harvest, not snow accumulation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that nearly a quarter of Mississippi’s cotton crop had been harvested by Sept. 29. To date, 45% of the crop is rated in good condition and 39% fair. Cotton ... Read More »