Potential replant situations
in cotton often are the result of rushing to plant before conditions are
right, according to Arkansas Extension cotton specialist Tom Barber.
“Cool conditions, extreme wet
conditions or a forecast that calls for a lot of rain are all favorable
conditions for disease, crusting and other events, such as a hailstorm,
that can lead to an inadequate stand,” Barber says. “Seed quality really
has not been a problem for us.”
If you do end up with a
field of skippy cotton for whatever reason, a replant decision will be
called for, and deciding whether to replant is one of the trickiest
calls anyone has to make during the production season. Factors to take
into consideration include the uniformity and health of the existing
stand, potential yield compared to a replanted field, the odds of
getting a successful stand the second time and the calendar date.
Look At Three-Foot
Skips
The first step in the
decision-making process is to count the viable seedlings. One plant per
row-foot is the minimum stand that you would want to keep, according to
Louisiana Extension cotton specialist Sandy Stewart. The next
consideration is noting how evenly dispersed the plants are.
“The critical skip length
to take into account is the three-foot skip,” Stewart says. “We’ve found
that you can tolerate about 13 three-foot skips per 80 feet of row in
late May without having to replant.”
Barber notes that if there
are a lot of skips over three feet in length, then yield loss becomes an
issue.
“The trick (to not
replanting) is to have an even stand,” he says.
Stewart says another
consideration is having some kind of assurance that you will gain a
stand the second time. If this is questionable, then it’s better to work
with the skippy stand.
“The only thing more
expensive than replanting cotton twice is replanting it three times,”
Stewart says.
Barber says it’s also
important to consider how much moisture there is in the ground.
“If it’s a dry year, and we
don’t have any moisture, it’s not a good idea to replant because we
don’t know when we are going to get a rain.”
Consider The
Planting Window
Calendar date is also a
factor in the replant decision-making process.
“When it’s late in the
planting window – late May and early June – replanted cotton yields will
be progressively lower and lower,” Stewart says. “Generally speaking,
the later it is in the planting window, the less likely you want to go
with a replant.”
Barber agrees.
“We have data showing that
if we plant cotton past May 20, we start seeing a yield decline in
Arkansas,” he says. “If whether to replant a field is a real tough
decision to make, we advise producers just to manage the stand they
already have.”
Four Replanting
Tips
1. On the second time
around, plant an early maturing variety.
2. If it’s real late in the
planting window, consider planting another crop, such as soybeans.
3. Spot planting is usually
not a good idea; you will be managing two different maturity crops.
4. Check with your seed
company to see if a replant program is offered.
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