Crop Scan AgReport – Rain: Too Little, Too Much, Just Right?
July 27, 2020 
From the field level for late July and early August: The heat is on in the Southeast over into central Texas, while we await news on the impact of Tropical Storm Hanna in South and Coastal Texas. West Texas cotton is taking advantage of more moderate temperatures and some timely showers. Insect pressure continues to build as bollworm moth flights increase.
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.
”It has been extremely hot and dry here in North Carolina. We had a little rain over the weekend, but it’s very spotty. The cotton is very stressed from the weather. The majority of the cotton is in the second week of bloom. Some of the late, replanted cotton is in the first week of bloom.
“We’ve had very little PGRs applied because it’s been so hot and dry. Our weed control is pretty much finished up except for a few escapes to clean up.
“As far as insect pressure goes, plant bugs remain somewhat lower this year compared to previous years. Most acres have been treated once for plant bugs and worse areas treated twice. Only a handful of fields have had treatment levels for aphids. We are at the beginning of the moth flight, and we are starting to find some eggs in the two-gene cotton. I expect that to pick up soon.
“We just need some rain!”
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.
“For the most part, it’s been hot and dry. We did catch some afternoon rains from about half an inch to an inch in parts of South Georgia, Florida panhandle and edge of Alabama on Thursday (7/23) and Friday (7/24). But, we still have areas in need of rain.
“Fruit retention up until now has continued to hold up well, but as we always tend to see in late July, our oldest cotton has started to shed some fruit. Our oldest dryland cotton is aborting young bolls in this heat, especially where we missed rain. Hopefully, we can catch afternoon rain this last week of July. We have some good rain chances this week. Center pivots have been running non-stop in some places.
“With all of the heat, cotton has really checked up in the last week, and high fruit retention and limited water have really slowed down Pix applications. We are finishing up our last over-top weed applications and just in time for July 31 deadline for dicamba. We are 70% done with layby sprays and should finish laying cotton by in next two weeks. We will have to pull a few escaped pigweed on some farms.
“We have found several escaped corn earworms in our two-gene cotton and sprayed a couple thousand acres so far. We have not sprayed any three-gene cotton for earworm escapes. We have treated 1,000 acres for spider mites, plant bugs and stink bugs. Pressure has been present at low levels, but nothing we’re not used to dealing with. Moving into August, we will continue to monitor whiteflies. We’ve started picking up low levels, but any level silverleaf whiteflies in July and August is cause for concern. If it stays hot and dry, silverleaf whitefly can build to damaging high levels in two and three weeks’ time.
“August is a challenging time in southeastern cotton. Humidity and rainfall in August will determine if we spray much for target spot. Target spot, nematodes pressure and high levels of whiteflies can all devastate fruit retention in August. We need more rainfall and cooler temperatures through August to really set up this cotton crop.”
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.
“Weather has turned off hot and dry. We are in full swing irrigation mode, because we have not had a rain in over two weeks. All the cotton has been laid by with herbicides. Overall, the crop looks pretty clean from weeds, and now we are just cleaning up ends and around risers and wells.
“We have cleaned up all the aphids that were giving us problems in recent weeks. What aphids we have not sprayed were cleaned up by the fungus. We had a building population of aphids on one farm last week, but the fungus has knocked them back next to nothing. We started picking up bollworm eggs early last week on the south end of our route. These areas have been sprayed. We have been steady following the bollworms north and will be spraying the northern parts of our territory this week. We are only spraying our two-gene varieties for bollworms and keeping a close eye on the three-gene varieties to ensure they hold back the bollworms.
“We are also making our final PGR applications on some of the aggressive varieties. This will be the end of PGR for the year, because we do not use much in August. We’re starting to see some plant bug nymphs hatching out in cotton that we haven’t sprayed in a couple of weeks. We will be adding plant bug insecticide to the diamide application that we are putting out for bollworms. So far, knock on wood, we haven’t had any flare-ups of spider mites. We hope they don’t flare up in this hot, dry weather, but I bet they do somewhere.
“As far as disease goes, we have a little bacterial blight in a susceptible variety, but most of our varieties are resistant.
“The cotton is maturing rapidly, with most of it being at node above white flower 5 or 6. We have a little late cotton, but the majority is in the fourth week of bloom and is setting bolls. If we can get it all watered or catch a rain, I believe it will be a good crop.”
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.
“The heat is on in Central Texas. With the hot temps and lack of rain, the dryland cotton is shedding everything it can’t fill out. Some areas received some rainfall early this month and have held on more to make a fair looking crop. Irrigated cotton looks very good as long as we can keep up with the water. If there is a hiccup during watering, it shows up quick in the hot Texas sun.
“Our area has missed Tropical Storm Hanna. As of Saturday morning, we’ve only had a few spotty showers. We feel for the growers down south and hope it doesn’t hurt them too bad.
“Insect pressure has been light in the heat. Some spider mites have popped up in some fields and edges especially next to corn fields. Now that corn harvest is underway, stink bugs are becoming a lot more active. This is something farmers should watch closely, as damage numbers can rise quickly. Bollworms have dropped off in most areas. Some areas with later corn still have some moths circling around.”
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.
“Cotton ranges from 1/3-grown square to physiological cutout (5 nodes above white flower). Ideally, we would like to be around 6-7 nodes above white flower (NAWF) at this time. This allows us to take full advantage of effective bloom period and have that last bloom set before odds decrease dramatically for full maturity.
“The change in weather from +100-degree temperatures to the low 90s has allowed cotton to grow at a more normal pace rather than racing towards hard cutout. Irrigation water and some recent scattered rain showers have also allowed for more efficient water use conditions.
“Insect pests continue to remain quiet, with an occasional Lygus or stink bug being noted along weedy field margins.
“My priorities these next several days are:
- Keep up with crop water demands. We are at or near peak use in flowering cotton of 0.30” per day.
- Wrap up all fertilizing in cotton. These later applications only delay maturity.
- Keep close watch on aphids, Lygus, stink bugs, cotton bollworms and beet armyworms over the next month.
- Maintain our good square set going into flowering on late cotton and maintain a good boll set with limited damage and losses.
- Do not let cotton vegetative growth get out of hand. Our target of 5 NAWF should be reached around August 5. This allows us to literally bloom out the top on our last effective bloom date of August 20.”
GET THE NEWSLETTER TODAY!
