Weekly in-season Updates
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INFORMATION |
August 8, 2005 Talkin’ Cotton
The dog days of summer are uncomfortable for us but ideal for cotton growth and fruiting, if we have moisture. Irrigated producers are busy with their irrigation schedules and we are beginning to get some isolated rainfall in the dryland areas. Most dryland cotton has been stressed for moisture and if rainfall has been received, prospects for a good crop are dramatically improved. A common misconception is that a growth spurt following drought stress will cause fruit shed as soon as rainfall is received. Actually, the abscission layers on small bolls have already been set due to the drought stress and the bolls were doomed prior to the rainfall. The rainfall just moistened the abscission area enough to soften it up and allow the fruit to fall from the plant. Older bolls and squares should remain on the plant, and the moisture will allow boll filling and retention of bolls following blooming. As blooms form later in August we will have to rely on good fall weather to mature the bolls.
Plant growth on irrigated and non-stressed dryland should be slowing due to boll load. Pix applications should have already been completed unless the cotton was very late planted or it had shed most of the bottom crop. Heavy fruit loads on vigorously growing cotton might be showing signs of nitrogen stress due to the high demand for nitrogen by developing bolls. Under these conditions a foliar application of nitrogen could help hold small fruit that might be shed due to nitrogen deficiency. Do not apply the nitrogen after the plant has cut out or it will just promote vegetative growth and make the crop less responsive to harvest aids and more difficult to harvest. Cutout can be defined as when the terminal of the plant is less than five nodes from the top first position white flower.
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