Master What You Can Control
February 22, 2021 To say that 2020 was an interesting year in Texas cotton production would be an understatement. Decent planting moisture allowed growers in the fields as early as possible before dry weather and heat arrived. Hurricane Hanna devastated much of the south Texas crop. Untimely rains impacted the quality of cotton in central Texas. And west Texas struggled with severe drought through much of the growing season.
All in all, it was a pretty eventful first year for Ben McKnight, who assumed the role of AgriLife Extension cotton specialist in April 2020 – just as the world essentially shut down. And is he ever ready for 2021 to get started.
Ben McKnight
“Planting in the Rio Grande Valley usually ramps up about the middle of February, and things will get active in the Coastal Bend around mid-March,” he says. “There’s still quite a bit of drought up in the High Plains, but we’ve actually gotten some pretty decent rain in central Texas – and that’s always welcome. It’s still dry in south Texas is still dry, so hopefully we’ll get some timely rainfall to replenish the soil moisture before folks get in the field.”
As growers finalize their plans for 2021, McKnight stresses the value of gathering as much information as possible to influence those crop management decisions.
“My philosophy is to be a master at controlling what you can control,” he explains. “We obviously can’t control the weather, but there are a lot of other variables that we can. In some respects, we can develop long-term management goals and plan accordingly.”
That level of planning may take on a bit more importance this season, as cotton acres are currently projected to be down slightly across the Cotton Belt, including Texas. The annual Cotton Grower Acreage Survey issued in January projected 11,611,000 upland and ELS cotton acres for 2021 – down 4.7% from the USDA-NASS Acres Planted total of 12,185,000 acres from last June.
For Texas, the Cotton Grower projection shows 6,500,000 acres – down slightly from 6,615,000 acres reported in 2020. Regardless, it’s still a lot of cotton to plant and manage. And McKnight outlined his thoughts for maximizing every planted acre:
Start with a good fertility program. This is the time for soil testing to find out what nutrients are already present and determine what other inputs are needed for a profitable crop. “Oftentimes, fertilizing for a realistic yield goal can enhance profitability,” says McKnight. “But on the other side of the spectrum, under-fertilization can often lead to unnecessary costs. Knowing plant nutrient needs is an important component to an overall management plan.”
Choose varieties and technologies that fit your farm, plans and needs. McKnight is quick to note that yield potential, yield stability and fiber quality should be the most important considerations when selecting cotton varieties. But right behind those come the traits needed to help best manage the crop in order to maintain yield and quality throughout the season.
“For instance, some locations have a history of bacterial blight, so disease resistance becomes a selection factor,” he says. “Growers have a good idea of what their weed spectrum looks like from year to year, and that should drive herbicide program selection so they can start putting their pre-plant and core postemergence program in place.”
McKnight points out that growers will continue to face weed resistance issues. Put simply, they’re here to stay. Palmer amaranth – or pigweed – remains the state’s most troublesome weed pest. But from the Gulf Coast into central Texas, tall waterhemp is also causing real headaches for growers.
“In terms of insect technologies, we’re already seeing growers along the Gulf Coast, in the Blacklands and in central Texas shifting to the 3-gene trait products because of bollworm resistance,” he adds. “Making that decision on the front end will also shape what a grower’s overall insect program is going to look like.”
Look for cost savings. In addition to looking for the best deals on crop inputs, McKnight reminds growers that the glyphosate and glufosinate weed traits are still viable technologies in areas where weed resistance hasn’t been or isn’t an issue. “Some of those varieties have proven to have good yield potential and good fiber quality,” he says. “Often, growers can save a little money on seed costs.”
Pay attention to variety test results. McKnight and his colleagues in the High Plains, coastal Texas and west central Texas work each year to evaluate varieties through their Replicated Agronomic Crop Evaluation – or RACE – trials. These large plot, on-farm, replicated strip trials were conducted in 15 locations in 2020 with grower cooperators handling uniform management across each trial. Additional small plot variety testing is also conducted to help evaluate seed company experimental lines.
Data from all trials are published online.
“We just published our 2020 results in December for south, central and east Texas,” says McKnight. “I encourage growers to take a look at the data. More than likely, there’s a trial location in close proximity to where a grower is located. They can look at the regional data from some of the areas around them and use it as a tool for decision making when it comes to varieties.
“It’s pretty common to see anywhere from a 15% to 25% difference in yields in some of these trials,” he adds. “When you start to look at that type of difference and returns, it can potentially mean hundreds of dollars per acre.”
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