Crop Scan AgReport – 2020 Encore Edition

From the field level for mid-October for this encore edition: Defoliation and harvest are the key words in the Cotton Belt. Concerns remain in the Southeast about finishing the crop out as needed, while the Mid-South dries out after the remnants of Hurricane Delta came calling. Harvest is wrapping up in central Texas, just as west Texas begins. The general consensus: relief that this 2020 season is almost over. Our thanks and appreciation again to our participating consultants for their insight and expertise.

 

Chad Harrell owns and operates Harrell Agronomic Services in Northeastern North Carolina. The NC State graduate is a member of the North Carolina Agricultural Consultants Association and serves on the board of the North Carolina Cotton Producers Association.

“About a third of our acreage has been defoliated over the past two weeks. Much of our later planted cotton still isn’t ready for defoliation. We received decent heat units last week followed by rain this weekend. But there were still not enough heat units to further mature our top bolls as we had hoped. With hardly any heat units forecasted for the rest of this month, we are simply running out of time.

“This week looks like our last opportunity to get decent results from our defoliants. We will try to defoliate much of our remaining acres this week as soon as we can get back in the field.”

Wes Briggs is an independent consultant that has worked with growers in Georgia, Alabama and Florida for more than 30 years. The Mississippi State University graduate covers about 10 counties in the tri-state area. He and his scouting team check primarily cotton, corn, peanuts, soybeans and some small grains. His services include weed, disease and insect management, along with fertility recommendations and variable rate soil sampling. 

“The weather certainly has not been on our side in 2020. We went from being super dry in most areas up till Aug. 10 to excessive rainfall. Since Aug. 10, we’ve had 18.5 inches to 26 inches of rainfall with abnormally cool conditions for the Southeast.

“At present, my growers have not picked one acre of cotton. Rain has delayed everything, so we are way behind in harvesting. Our April to mid-May planted cotton will take biggest yield losses. I estimate on average a 50% yield loss to hard lock and boll rot. Our best cotton will likely be June 1 to June 10 planting dates, with estimates in the 900 to 1,200 pounds range.

“Anything planted after June 10 has been impacted from late rain and cool temperatures in late September. We have an aborted top and lack heat units.

“Defoliation is in full swing, the 10-day forecast looks good, and we should start picking by the end of the week. There are only a few confirmed yields from growers just outside my area that range from 700 to 1,100 lbs/A. In 2019, these same fields yielded 1,500 to 1,800 pounds and looked every bit as good this year before Aug. 10.

“We’ve just had too much rain. Before Hurricane Sally hit on Sept. 17, we were already dealing with hard lock, boll rot, and sprouted seed issues. Sally was the final nail.”

Tucker Miller is a Mississippi-based independent private consultant for cotton, soybeans, corn, peanuts, rice and vegetables. He earned a BS in Agronomy and MS in Pest Management from Mississippi State University and is a member and past president of the Mississippi Agricultural Consultants Association.

“Hurricane Delta just passed through my area. We received from 3.5 inches up to 5 inches of rain with this storm. Unlike the last storm, Delta had 25-35 mile per hour winds with it. I haven’t gone out yet to look at the cotton to see how it fared.

“Prior to the storm, we were picking a very good crop. I would estimate my growers are around 50% harvested. The cotton that has been picked was in the 1,400 lbs/A range and had very good grades (3½ cents above loan).

“We will probably get back in the field at the end of this coming week. Hopefully the cotton hasn’t been hurt too bad. I am looking forward to getting this crop out and making plans for next year.”

Mark Nemec is a Texas independent agricultural consultant who covers the Blacklands and Brazos River Bottom area of Central Texas. He primarily checks cotton, wheat, grain sorghum and corn, as he has for the last 26 years.

“We finally caught a break in the weather and were able to get most of the cotton out of the fields. There are some late fields that have a tremendous amount of regrowth, and they are giving us fits trying to get it off. The temperature has been going up and down like a yo-yo, making defoliation recommendations difficult. Most of those fields missed most of the rains this summer, and it got too dry for them to use up the fertilizer. When the rains came in September, the plants found it and took off like a rocket.

“2020 started out on a good note for us with warm temps at planting to give us a nice even stand of cotton. It seemed like anytime we needed a rain early season, we got one. With the warm weather and very low numbers of fleahoppers this spring, we set a beautiful bottom crop for a change. Fruit set was looking very good until June. We had a little heatwave, then some rain. The row middles turned green with shed fruit. Thankfully, it looked worse than it actually was.

“Most areas received more timely rains in mid-June and early July while we were blooming. Growers were getting excited at all the bolls that were showing up and couldn’t wait to harvest what looked like one of the best crops in a long time. Then, as we started knocking off leaves, we got anywhere from 6 to 14 inches of rain over a two-week period. Surprisingly, we didn’t have much fall out, and yields have been decent. Some of the later fields have had hard lock issues though. The most disappointing thing has been the hit the growers are taking with grade deductions.

“Most of us are glad the 2020 season is finally coming to an end.”

Kerry Siders is Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Agent-IPM for Hockley, Cochran and Lamb Counties. A Texas Tech graduate, he has been with Texas AgriLife Extension since 1990, providing education and applied research for weeds, insects, diseases, nematodes, growth regulators and harvest aids in cotton. He is a member of the High Plains Association of Crop Consultants.

“The Texas South Plains cotton crop is now ready to move into serious harvest mode. Though some cotton acres have been treated with a harvest aid and a few acres harvested, based on phone calls this first full week of October, I would say that by Columbus Day we should have most all cotton producers earnestly starting this season’s harvest processes.

“The weather has been ideal for further maturation of later set fruit. However, we are seeing signs of cotton being loose in the burr and will not be as patient from this point forward. As usual for the High Plains, wind events are expected and can cause lint to string-out.

“Harvest aids all seem to be doing their job. As usual, fields which received late (past peak bloom) fertilizer applications have been the most difficult to deal with. Those situations also present a challenge in regrowth after a harvest aid application.

“This has been another challenging year, with loss of most dryland acres, lack of rainfall, and cost of production. Fortunately, we have the best cotton producers in the world on the job and they can make it work.

“Have a safe and prosperous harvest.”