Harvest

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...

Round Bales, Ginning Technology And A Positive Outlook For Cotton By Carroll Smith Editor As one of the seven cotton industry segments, ginners follow producers in the chain that ultimately leads to the textile manufacturer. Once cotton is harvested, it is...

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...

Properly cleaning and servicing the cotton picker each night or morning will result in better performance and lower potential of fire throughout the day. Most producers do a thorough cleaning from top to bottom before greasing, adding fluids, and...

If local information from crop consultants or Extension agents is unavailable and a Western cotton producer needs quick access to crop information, there are a number of online resources available to help them explore late-season production options. For agronomic, irrigation,...

Strategic Thinking Keeps Cotton In The Mix By Carroll Smith Editor Mississippi author David L. Cohn once said, “The Mississippi Delta begins in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis and ends on Catfish Row in Vicksburg.” This region is proud...

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...

In the Texas Permian Basin where vast open land meets the horizon, Bo and Russ Eggemeyer are dedicated to growing white gold. These sixth-generation farmers are taking advantage of new subsurface drip irrigation technology to maximize water-use efficiency across their cotton acres. The brothers also grow varieties bred to deliver a high-yielding, high-quality crop. This is their story.

Estimated From Days Suitable For Fieldwork By Terry W. Griffin, Ph.D., Kansas State University; Michael J. Buschermohle, Ph.D., University of Tennessee; and Edward M. Barnes, Ph.D., Cotton Incorporated Editor’s Note: As Tennessee cotton specialist Tyson Raper says on page 21, the forecast...

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...