Agricultural News
Drought Causing More Water Stress in Southwestern Oklahoma for Cotton Producers
Fri, 29 Jul 2011 10:30:13 CDT
In southwestern Oklahoma, the cotton crop is still struggling with the continuous drought of 2011. Mesonet data, as of July 27, shows that Altus has had about 50.5 inches of pan evaporation since May 15. Also, the consistently high temperatures have continued at over 100 degrees, with 61 days being at least 100 degrees or more in 2011.
The drought has put a strain on the cotton crop, irrigation systems, and even the groundwater supply. Many producers are reporting decreasing sources of groundwater because of pump stress and others are reporting increasing salinity in some areas. Because of the extreme heat, the cotton heat units have been well above normal.
Also, tracking cutout programs is especially important during these hot, summer months. The COTMAN program defines cutout as nodes above white flower = 5. To meet the COTMAN program criteria, "hard cutout" or "blooming out the top" of the plant must occur soon after white flower = 5 is encountered. This year, because of the heat, it is predicted that most plants will hit a "hard cutout."
Click on the LINK below to read more on tracking cutout patterns, along with a Mesonet Irrigation Planner update, for southwestern Oklahoma in the Cotton Comments Newsletter.
02096_CottonComments07292011.pdf
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