Weekly in-season Updates
|
INFORMATION |
May 23, 2005 Talkin’ Cotton
Cotton planting is in full swing, and following the heavy rainfall and isolated hail last weekend, I’ve been getting some calls concerning whether this stand is going to make it, or should I replant? There are several things to consider when making replant decisions such as time left to replant without losing yield potential, plant population that will survive, and overall health of the plants that will likely survive. Ideally, a cotton plant should emerge five to 14 days following planting, but when adverse weather follows planting, this time is extended. Many of the fields this spring had heavy rainfall, causing surface compaction and a crust that the plant had to penetrate. Rotary hoeing was done as soon as possible, but a combination of weather factors made the crust extremely hard and thick. Spring pressure had to be applied to the rotary hoes running in the row, and even then the soil crust might not have been penetrated. Sometimes a second rotary needed to be done, and best results were achieved when this was done early in the morning when higher humidity made the crust easier to break. At 10 to 14 days after planting, cotton should be emerged or in the process of emerging. These plants should be evaluated for clean, white disease free roots, and the number of healthy plants should be counted. As the first of June approaches, plant population should be at least 17,000 to 20,000 plants per acre with a minimum of long skips on adjacent rows. With 40 inch rows, count all good plants in 13 feet of row and multiply by 1000 to get the approximate number of plants per acre. If most the plants have brown disease lesions on the roots, or the root tips are black and watery, the area probably needs to be replanted.
|