Weekly in-season Updates
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INFORMATION |
May 16, 2005 Talkin’ Cotton
Cotton that was planted last Monday is now beginning to emerge. Most of Southwest Oklahoma had welcome rainfall last Friday and Saturday, which helped ensure the cotton did not dry out. Now begins the most vulnerable time in the life of the cotton plant. Cotton is very susceptible to blowing soil, many times just a few hours of blowing sand will destroy the crop. When the soil is seared over by rainfall, the cotton plants will need to be protected as soon as the soil dries enough to allow equipment to run. A rotary hoe will rough the soil enough to prevent severe damage, but it has to be done before the sand begins to blow. Cotton that is having trouble emerging due to a crust will also need help by rotary hoeing enough to break the crust and allow emergence. If the cotton was not protected by an in-furrow or seed treatment insecticide, it needs to be evaluated for thrips damage. Dr. Miles Karner has some thrips suggestions in his newsletter which can be accessed on the www.ntokcotton.org web site. Cotton will need to be planted in our dryland areas in the next two to three weeks, so the recent rainfall has been perfect for cotton planting.
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