By Clint Thompson
Georgia’s cotton producers need to understand how quickly their crop is progressing and don’t waste time in completing the defoliation process.
Camp Hand, University of Georgia (UGA) Extension cotton agronomist, discussed this year’s crop at last week’s UGA Cotton and Peanut Research Field Day.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to get out there and get this cotton when it’s ready. It still looks green and doesn’t look like it’s ready. But when it’s 75% open, we’re good to go,” Hand said. “Some of mine on the station here look as green as a gourd, and some of it is red and turning like it should be. At the end of the day, when you hit that point when you’re 60%, 75%, 80% open, we need to get out there, spray that cotton and get it. We need to gather that stuff because if we don’t, something else might do it for us.”
Hand referred to the peak tropical season where there are currently two areas of development in the Atlantic Ocean, while another, Potential Tropical Cyclone Six (Francine), was located off the coast of Texas in the Gulf of Mexico. It is forecast to impact Texas and Louisiana later this week.
A tropical system in September and October can have dire consequences for cotton producers across the Southeast. That makes timely harvests a must for growers.
“It’s tough when something is coming off the Cape of Africa, exactly what’s going to happen with it. We just need to be ready, get the leaves off and be ready to pick the cotton that’s ready,” Hand said.