By Clint Thompson
The Georgia Cotton Commission and University of Georgia Extension Cotton Team are providing guidance for Georgia cotton producers ahead of a potential major storm.
Camp Hand, University of Georgia (UGA) Extension cotton agronomist, provided growers management tips in preparation for what could be a hurricane later this week.
“We don’t know exactly what’s coming for us. There’s a little bit out there that’s defoliated, so I think the first thing is let’s try to get that taken care of. If it’s ready to pick, lets pick it. If there’s varieties that are little more susceptible from losses to a hurricane like some of those looser type of varieties, let’s try to get those first. Really, at the end of the day, let’s just sit tight and wait to see what this thing’s going to do,” Hand said.
Storm Background
The storm, is situated in the Caribbean, will be named Helene and is expected to approach the northern Gulf Coast by Thursday or Friday, according to Pam Knox, UGA Extension agricultural climatologist in her blog.
“It certainly is going to be wet. There are still places around here that are still kind of wet from that last spell. A lot of people were ready to start spraying a good bit this week and now we’re on the fence of what do we do?” Hand said. “Some research was done by Guy Collins out of North Carolina last year, and it pretty much states what we know about cotton in a hurricane. The stuff that’s defoliated and ready to pick, that’s the stuff that is most susceptible. The varieties that are more likely to be loose in the burr, those are more susceptible to losses as well. Those are the things that I’d be concerned about right now.”