A week of sunshine is just what the doctor ordered for Alabama cotton producers trying to get this year’s crop planted. Wet weather has stalled plantings so far this spring, says Alabama Extension cotton specialist Steve Brown.
“We’ve been a good bit behind. The last few days have helped us. There’s still a few places that are probably a little wet to get back into, but we’re starting to roll and looking for some open weather this week,” Brown said. “We expect to make up a lot of ground on cotton this week. It’s much needed, and we’re kind of getting a little bit late. I think we will be roaring pretty big this week.”
Brown said that the central and southern part of the state remains pretty wet. Cotton planting in north Alabama is farther along because of drier conditions.
“The USDA had us last (week) at 27% (planted). Of course, you’re biased by what you see up close. We thought that number was way high. I thought the number was somewhere between 10% to 15%,” Brown said. “A lot of it was accomplished in north Alabama. There’s a pocket or two in central Alabama that got some things done. But this week, we’ve had open conditions for several days now, bright sunshine. Even some of our wetter areas should be dried out by mid-week.”
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