Agricultural News
Crop Scan AgReport - Managing a Good, but Behind Schedule Crop
Wed, 28 Jul 2021 10:05:52 CDT
Cotton Grower magazine's Crop Scan AgReport for mid-July shows growers are continuing weed, insect, and crop management, that overall is in good shape but still running behind.
Kerry Siders, Texas A&M AgriLife extension insect pest management agent for Hockley, Cochran, and Lamb counties was featured in this week's report stating that we have been through the wringer the last several weeks here on the Southern High Plains of Texas and now praying that we have good open weather from here on out with gentle, timely rains, and a great long fall. He also noted that we have good soil moisture for mid-summer, and the temperatures are generating good heat units.
Based on the IPM scouting program fields here is what our average upland cotton plant looks like on the Southern High Plains of Texas:
· Average number of total nodes is 13 (range 6 to 16)
· 1st fruiting branch at node 7 (range 5-9)
· Square retention of 1st positions is 91% (range 67-100%)
· Node length is 0.9? (range of 0.4?-1.8?)
· Plant populations average 32,650 per acre (range 17,300 to 48,000)
· Nodes above white flower 9 (only one field has started to bloom)
Siders stated he began finding blooms on July 16 and projects we should go into bloom with 8.5 nodes above white flower. He noted that this places first bloom on early fields, which have escaped much weather damage, near July 24 and the remaining fields should be at or near first bloom hopefully before August 1. Siders also noted that August 20 is the date when we say with some confidence that a boll formed on that day will have time to mature out, and anything formed after that point, the odds of it having time to mature decreases greatly.
Siders' priority list for the rest of July:
1. Keep a close watch on fleahoppers and Lygus, especially on young squaring cotton.
2. Scout for aphids and larvae pests on blooming cotton.
3. Stay on top of weed control - cultivate, hoe, whatever it takes to keep the pigweed from going to seed. It is a numbers game.
4. If you still have fertilizer to go out, get it in place before the end of this month. This applies even to late cotton. Late fertilizer applications will only delay maturity and can encourage cotton aphids.
5. Look at the top 3 to 4 nodes on your cotton. If the internode length is longer than 1.5?, consider a plant growth regulator.
To read the full report visit https://bit.ly/3eztuC3
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