Tim Ballinger, Ballinger Innovative Agronomics, Dumas, Texas:
“Cotton is mostly at mid-bloom, and 10 to 20% has fruit developed into bolls. Most cotton is around 80 days growth, which is 20 days ahead of schedule. Peak water use is about 100 days, so we’ve welcomed spotty showers after such a dry, hot period.
“Those showers have produced weeds, so we’re running post-emerge herbicides layby to stay ahead of them. Our key focus is on PGRs. With the recent rain, we need to hold down growth. We’re about 2.5 weeks from August 15. That’s an important date because whatever is on the plant should typically make it to October 15 or the first freeze. It should be a harvestable boll.
“Heat units have been high. Insects are light, and the crop is nice and uniform. We just need to finish.
“Corn is also performing well after being through hell with hot weather and days of high winds. But ears are filling out, and we should know about ear formation by next week. Mite treatments are still going out. There is also a little ear smut caused by damage from the high winds. The chances for smut are always high with continuous wind pressure.”
Gary Beverage, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Artesia, New Mexico/Southwest Texas:
“The crop looks good, and pests remain quiet. Fields planted early have a good boll set. Others are flowering. There is stink bug pressure, but nothing compared to last year. It was green stink bugs that gave us problems in 2019. This year it’s the Conchuela stink bug. Thankfully, numbers are low.
“Precipitation has been low, so we’ve kept irrigation going. We finally dropped out of the 100s last week and that helped everything. Weeds are mostly under control, but there are a few problems with Russian thistle. It can be hard to control.
“We’re watching for rust in areas that received a little rain.”
Wayne Keeling, Texas A&M AgriLife Research Weed Specialist, Lubbock:
“With all of the dry weather on the South Plains, it remains quiet on the weed front. Growers fortunate enough to receive rain need to catch weed flushes while they are small and finish post-emerge applications that include residuals. We can’t let a weed seed bank build up for next year.
“Guys have done a good job getting their dicamba down before the July 31 deadline allowed by the 9th Circuit Court ruling. Users of the Enlist were glad to see the court’s ruling in favor of that technology.
“But there are many questions for 2021. With all of the court rulings and uncertainties, we’re unsure what herbicide programs will look like next year. It puts growers in a tough spot. There’s as much uncertainty as there was over 5 years ago when pigweed resistance became a problem. We hope that common sense prevails. We need to be both optimistic and realistic.”
Alan Sietz, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Wilcox, Arizona:
“Most cotton is just past mid-bloom and looks fantastic. PGRs are still going out in a few fields. We’re also treating for lygus and mites, with a few spot weed treatments.
“We had a real blessing last week. Temperatures were lower and a nice rain fell around the valley, from 0.4” to 3 inches. But that has disappeared, and we’ll have smoking hot temps again. As long as we can keep the water, it’s good for cotton.
“Plants are loaded. However, after the monsoons and cooler weather, they’re shucking off fruit. With the strong growth of the plants, some fields could stand to shed a little.
“After multiple rains we’re scouting for southwestern cotton rust. Root rot is also on our radar.”
AgFax News Links
Enlist Herbicide Receives Federal Court Reprieve – DTN 7-24
Farmers Having Their Day In Court On Missouri Farmland Flooding – DTN 7-28
Shurley on Cotton: Rally Stalls, Market Looking More Uncertain 7-28
Cleveland On Cotton: Plenty Of News To Spook The Market 7-24
Weekly Cotton Market Review – USDA 7-24
Mystery Seed Recipients Advised to Report Shipments to USDA 7-28
Texas Rice: Hurricane Hanna Impacts on Ratoon Crop 7-27
Texas High Plains Cotton: Plant Bugs Widespread and Building 7-24
Texas: 9 Counties Designated Natural Disaster Areas to Drought 7-24
Texas LRGV Cotton: Heavy Whiteflies, Late Season Thrips 7-23
Texas High Plains Cotton: Lygus Still a Threat, Be Careful with PGRs – Podcast 7-23
Kansas: 7 Counties Designated Natural Disaster Areas to Drought, Freeze Events 7-24