Reflections & predictions on cotton season this year
21 Sep '06
2 min read
With the benefit of hindsight, it is easy to point out and applaud what has gone well in cotton cultivation in the US this season, which is gearing up for defoliation and harvest.
Contrary to the expectations that the crop was going to be late because of the rain, yields are going to be all right by and large.
The July heat wave has done a world of good to help the cotton crop catch up from the wet spring and delayed planting.
On certain upland cotton varieties, defoliation is already underway, while most of the pima cotton will be defoliated in late September and early October.
The Pima has set a great top crop and many growers are waiting patiently to maximize on that entire top crop.
This may result in shortage of time to defoliate and harvest the cotton before the fall rains. Therefore, it is high time that some important decisions were made before it is too late for defoliation this year.
Some farmers have to deal with aphids and whitefly, while others especially those who have been applying herbicides for the past 10-12 days, need to tackle heavy morning glory infestations.
The best thing to do is to guard the crop against whiteflies that move from other crops particularly melons Citrus and olives, which host a huge swarm of whiteflies.
In the vicinity of urban areas, the problem is at its worst because a large number of houses grow shrubs and other landscape plants that serve as hosts for whiteflies.
These aphids invade the nearby cotton cultivation especially in areas like Greenfield near Bakersfield, probably the worst whitefly area in the entire county.
The best solution to control insects is to vary the use of the chemicals so that the species is weakened and the desired results can be achieved to the delight of the cotton growers.
marketing@alchempro.com
