Cotton here on the western South Plains of Texas is all the board from just replanted, waiting on an adjuster to look at, deciding on the options for replant, or a small percentage of cotton acres on the other end of the spectrum which are near squaring. All that said, thank God for the moisture and the next rain which is coming. I suspect most acres will go to grain sorghum, possibly some corn, black-eyed peas etc. I am always positive about the ability of cotton to recover and compensate in many ways, but when stands are inconsistent, skippy, and sub desirable populations (i.e. less than 23,000 on good, irrigated land) then I must draw a line and go to the next option. After Juneteenth I have a hard time recommending going back to cotton.
Here are my priorities from now through mid-July:
• Fertility -where are you at in reaching your realistic yield goal? Adjust accordingly, get it implemented soon, and be done before mid-bloom or end of July, whichever comes first.
• Irrigation - allow plants to root down with this current moisture from rain. As we begin to square up and move into flowering is when irrigation will become critical.
• Weed control – I would encourage producers to continue to utilize glufosinate (Liberty) as long as possible and while we have moisture. I would encourage residual herbicides as well.
• Plant map - what is the plant telling you: Will it need a plant growth regulator with good moisture, heat, and fertility?
• Insect scouting - never let your guard down; watch for thrips on late planted acres; and fleahoppers and possibly Lygus as we move to squaring cotton. Fleahoppers have been noted in field margins.
• Foliar Nematicide applications – if you have a history of cotton root-knot nematodes and possibly failed to get the variety of your choice to best deal with the nematodes or you did not get an atplant protection out, then your last resort would be an application of Vydate or Return. I like a split application of 8.5 oz 7-10 days apart