Mississippi may see cotton acres increase as much as 40% this year. And, because of lower than usual commodity prices, one of the common questions for all crops has been, “What inputs can we cut in an off year?”
The Mississippi State University cotton team – Angus Catchot, Jeff Gore, Darrin Dodds and Don Cook – remind growers that eliminating seed treatments is not a viable option in cotton due to thrips, which are the top pest for seedling cotton. The group notes that the probability of a thrips infestation in cotton in Mississippi and other parts of the Mid-South is probably 100%. And preventative use of seed treatments has been proven in field trials to provide a 115-pound lint yield advantage per acre.
In a recent blog post, the team outlines the current situation with seed treatments in cotton and makes recommendations for their use.
Source – Mississippi State University
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