Crop Scan AgReport: Catch Up Time for the 2020 Cotton Crop

From the field level for early to mid-July: Cotton is working hard to catch up across the Belt; recent rains were helpful for parts of Texas. Growers are trying to wrap up weed control and get started on early insect applications.

Advertisement

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.

“Cotton here in North Carolina is trying catch up and get back on track after a slow start. I’d say most of the cotton is still about two weeks behind normal, and we are about two weeks from first bloom.

Top Articles
Cotton Companion: Adjusting to New EPA Adjustments

“We are a little behind on spraying for weeds because we were pretty wet all last week. The pre-emerge herbicides seem to have worked well. Our Roundup and Liberty applications have been a little inconsistent due to the wet weather.

“As far as insects, we are starting to make some applications for plant bugs. They are spotty, but numbers are rising to threshold for the plant bugs. We also are seeing some aphids, but nothing at treatment levels yet.”

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. 

“Overall, weather has been dry here in Georgia for the most part with recent rain amounts ranging from none to one inch. We still have many areas in need of rain. Chances increase later this week.

“Cotton ranges from cotyledon to first bloom. In our older cotton, fruit retention is 90% or better. We’ve had to spray a fair amount of cotton for aphids, with most all older cotton getting an application for plant bugs. We are seeing just a few spots with spider mites, but no treatment levels. Imidacloprid at labeled rates is not giving adequate aphid control, so where growers are willing to spend money, we are going with Transform.

“Weed control has been a challenge and will continue to be. Fortunately, most growers were able to get enough dicamba to get at least one application applied for weeds. Farms that did not have the dicamba option have experienced more injury and increased weed control costs. Enlist has performed well, but we have limited Enlist acres. Dicamba has certainly performed very well so far in 2020. Growers really cleaned up resistant pigweed and have gotten the crop in great shape moving into layby. Hopefully the industry will get things figured out well in advance of 2021 crop. We need as many weed control options available moving forward. Dicamba is one we can’t afford to lose.

“Moving forward, we will be monitoring spider mites and possibilities of escaped bollworms in older two-gene cotton fields.”

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.

“As of June 27, most of our cotton growers have received beneficial rainfall. We really needed the moisture to activate the residual herbicides and kick off some cotton that was stressing. The cotton in my area ranges from six nodes to 13 nodes. I expect to find blooms by July 4. We have sprayed several locations for lygus, but overall, the pressure has been light.

“After this rain, we will be applying our layby herbicides and spraying another flush of pigweeds with dicamba and Liberty. We will also be laying poly pipe and getting ready for irrigation.

“We have put up our moth traps to monitor the bollworm flight. We usually get an egg lay around July 10-15. We have got more Bollgard 3 this year and are anxious to see how it performs. We also expect more plant bug activity mid-July as the corn starts to get dry. We will also be increasing our Pix rates and adding to our insecticide treatments where needed. I haven’t seen many secondary pests like mites or aphids, but I am sure they will show up sooner or later.”

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.

“Well, after a month of hot, dry weather In Central Texas, it rained again. Cotton loaded up well with fruit during the warm weather and is now growing vegetatively at a rapid rate. A lot of fields were side dressed, and the moisture hit it soon after. PGRs should be going out quickly now, and the forecast is showing a few more days of rain coming up.

“Insect pressure was light until last week when the wind started blowing. Fleahoppers started moving in with that wind, so we are trying to head them off at the pass and catch them before they knock off fruit. Cotton is either at or fixing to bloom. We are anticipating and starting to see a large egg lay coming this week and next. Everyone should be watching their cotton closely for any slippage of worms. Spider mites were showing up in spots before the rain, so these areas will need to be monitored as it dries back up.”

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.

“What a difference a few weeks make! We have finally received some significant general rainfall here on west portion of the Texas Southern High Plains. We have received anywhere from 1.5” to near 4”, accompanied by some hail and fierce winds. In fact, many acres which appeared to be damaged or lost to hail was +50 mph wind combined with rain. The rains were a blessing though. We all need rain. This may allow some dryland acres to come to a stand, hopefully these acres will have a great fall to finish.

“For the acres lost to the conditions prior to the rain or during, now there are options. The most common option will be grain sorghum.

“The surviving acres of irrigated cotton have begun to square. Though internode length is still less than an inch, the moisture combined with heat and fertility will cause rapid growth over the next few weeks. My recommendation will be to apply 6-8 oz of a plant growth regulator soon. This will help on fruit retention, balance out vegetative growth with reproductive growth, and enhance maturity at end of season.

“Insects have been extremely quiet, but we must remain vigilant during this early fruiting period to detect any fleahoppers or other plant bugs which may rob us of these valuable squares. Watch for grasshoppers adjacent to pastures and rangeland.”

 

0