Weekly in-season Updates
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INFORMATION |
August 29, 2005 Talkin’ Cotton
Recent rains have provided most cotton areas with enough moisture to finish the season. In some areas though, I have been getting some questions on timing of the final irrigation. Well fruited cotton has likely already shed the last blooms and will just need to mature the bolls on the plant. Some cotton that has had fruiting problems during the season is attempting to hold the blooms that are setting the last week in August. With favorable fall weather these blooms can develop into a boll. These bolls will weigh less and have lower micronaire than earlier set bolls, but they can add to the bottom line. A good rule of thumb for final irrigation is to have a full profile of moisture the last week in August. Furrow irrigated areas will need to water the last week in August to ensure a full moisture profile. Growers with pivot irrigation will need to evaluate the moisture profile, and if needed one more pass in early September might be justified. Generally, pivot irrigated areas do not wet the profile as deeply as furrow irrigation and terminating water the last of August might not leave enough moisture in the soil profile. It normally requires about 55 days from a bloom to an open boll, but only about 30-40 of those days need adequate water. The last 15-20 days of the maturation process are used to dry down the bolls and a final thickening of the fiber.
I have also been getting calls on use of Pix or mepiquat products to help control rapid re-growth since the recent high amounts of rainfall. If the cotton plant is well fruited, the cooler weather and heavy boll load will likely throttle vegetative growth. If the plant is poorly fruited with a lot of small bolls and very few bolls thumb sized or larger, an evaluation will need to be made to determine if yield potential can justify the extra expense of an application. This late in the season a Pix rate of 24 ounces per acre probably will be needed to slow vegetative growth and make the crop easier for stripper harvesting.
The OSU Southwest Research and Extension Center will be hosting a field day on September 20, 2005. Field tours will involve cotton varieties, harvest aids, insect control, and cropping systems. Indoor presentations will be held on wheat breeding, wheat pasture and grazing management, fertility evaluation, canola potential in this area and weed control in wheat. CEU and CCA credits will be available. The field day starts at 8:30 AM and will conclude with lunch.
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