university of arkansas

For the second straight year, Arkansas’ “ginning season” may go into extra innings. Despite the wet weather delays, growers had good reason to be optimistic about their 2019 crop, said Bill Robertson, Extension cotton agronomist, and Scott Stiles, Extension economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The optimism is palpable, taking the form of a bale backlog ... Read More »

Arkansas cotton growers may remember 2019 as one of their better years, despite a downward revision of expected yields, said Bill Robertson, extension cotton agronomist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. In October, the National Agricultural Statistics Service forecast Arkansas’ average yield at 1157 pounds per acre, but in November revised that downward to 1,102 pounds per ... 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 »

When relentless spring rains pushed the planting window wide open, entomologists predicted problems for Arkansas row-crops. That has certainly proven true for the state’s late-planted cotton, soybeans and rice, said Gus Lorenz, Extension entomologist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. Cotton Most of the state’s cotton is now past five nodes above white flower, plus 250 heat ... Read More »

Growers Tap Cover Crops And No-Till To Aid Soil Health, Cut Input Costs • By Vicky Boyd, Managing Editor • Pigweed was getting the better of Adam Chappell in 2010 when he decided he had to rein in weed control costs if he and his brother were to stay in farming. He turned to cover crops combined with no-till farming. ... Read More »

• By Bill Robertson • Another challenging season is starting to wind down. While our extended planting window resulted in a widely variable crop with regard to stage of development, Mother Nature usually has a way of narrowing the gap as we approach the finish line and this year is no exception. In Arkansas, our target date for harvest completion ... Read More »

While Arkansas cotton crop management is being complicated by a wide range of planting dates, and though late, the dreaded Fourth of July bollworm moth flight still looms. There are also a handful of other things growers need to keep an eye out for. “Things are coming on pretty well,” says Bill Robertson, Extension cotton specialist for the University of ... Read More »