Commonwealth Gin, Windsor, Virginia

Land preparation continues and as we are moving closer to planting, there are a couple of ideas that cotton growers should consider. 

First of all, if you are still burning down the winter cover, then you should consider how close we are to planting as you select the herbicides that you use. A lot of 2,4-D has been applied up to this point but we are at that time period where you should consider some other options for burn-down. There is a pretty long waiting period between spraying 2,4-D and planting cotton. Quite frankly, Roundup, Paraquat, and Ignite are all three very effective for burn-down without adding anything else to them. 

The two primary weeds that we can miss are cutleaf evening primrose, or mares tail. If you have these two weeds and did not get a chance to apply 2,4-D, there are several other options that you have available including Valor, Ignite programs, or increased rates of Roundup. 

The other primary items prior to planting are fertilizer applications. I am getting some K-mag and calcium questions although the primary focus for cotton fertility should be getting the Nitrogen and potassium done right. Next is sulfur and phosphorus. More on Fertility next time.