By Clint Thompson
Georgia cotton growers are in need of some drier weather. Various potential impacts are concerning Camp Hand, University of Georgia (UGA) Extension cotton agronomist, after a couple of weeks of persistent rains throughout the region.
“Starting to get a little concerned just about these overcast, cloudy days and this spittin’ rain every now and then; cotton just doesn’t like these cloudy days,” Hand said. “The stuff that was planted on the earlier side, like the first part of May up until May 15, a lot of that cotton will start throwing fruit if it stays cloudy. Guys are out there walking fields, and they’ll see some squares on the ground, and they’re not going to like it. That’s just part of the deal with cotton and August in South Georgia. It’s an unfortunate reality that’s going to happen.
“The other things that come to mind are foliar diseases. These rains every day are prolonging that leaf wetness period. You start to think about target spot. The big one to me is boll rot. If we don’t start getting some sunshine pretty soon, we’ll start to see some more of that and start getting some calls about that.”
Rain Totals
According to the UGA Weather Network, Tifton, Georgia, received 3.72 inches of rain and 11 rainy days from Aug. 1 to Aug. 13. Albany, Georgia, received 4.15 inches and seven rainy days during that same timeframe, and Cordele, Georgia, received 4.35 inches and 11 rainy days.
Hand said some growers aren’t concerned about target spot, especially with the expensive fungicides and the low market prices that cotton is currently selling at.
However, there is another disease that can be very devastating and it’s areolate mildew.
“If it comes in and it gets bad, then you will see yield benefits from spraying a fungicide. We do have to use more of those expensive products,” Hand said. “We were using something that’s fairly cheap that did decent on it, but the pathogen has developed resistance to that. You’ve got to put a little more money in it, but if you have it, then it’s going to be a problem for you.”