The Texas cotton crop can only be described as a mixed bag – with harvest wrapping up in the southern parts to bolls just setting in the northernmost parts – and sometimes the mixture depends on the moisture.
Growers around much of the state expect better yields and quality than in the past two years.
Outlooks are a relief for cotton producers in the High Plains who suffered back-to-back seasons of drought in 2022 and 2023. AgriLife Extension agronomists across the state say it is just a waiting game for many to see if timely rains appear to help finish fiber development.
Producers in coastal Texas hope to avoid tropical weather systems as they finish harvesting the 2024 cotton crop.
“I would say after Hurricane Beryl, a lot of eyes are on the tropics and the Gulf of Mexico,” said Ben McKnight, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension statewide cotton specialist and assistant professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Bryan-College Station. “This is always a concern this time of year, especially for growers near the coast.”
Panhandle
Cotton is blooming in the Panhandle, and hot, dry conditions have driven many fields past cutout, said Jourdan Bell, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension cotton agronomist and associate professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Amarillo.
“We are seeing blooms and early bolls drop in water-limited fields,” Bell said. “Once we reach cut out, we do not recommend producers continue irrigating, but because of limited soil moisture, we also do not want to continue dropping bolls and lose our yield potential.”
The extended forecast is 100plus degrees all week, she said, so producers need to closely watch irrigated fields and possibly continue irrigation if soil moisture is limited.
Far West Conditions in the district were hot and dry, with an average high temperature of 100 degrees. Rain was needed to improve rangeland, soil moisture and growing conditions.
Cotton endured a second week of extreme heat stress, with no opportunity to recover at night. Small boll squares were shedding. Corn harvest was near completion. Sorghum was fair but dry conditions have slowed plants. Melon harvest was nearing the end, with this season’s crop lasting longer than usual. Pastures were bare, with very few livestock remaining. Livestock conditions ranged from fair to poor. Producers worried about the future of managing livestock due to heat and lack of rain. Shipping of goats and nannies finished.
West Central
Hot and dry conditions continued across the district, further dropping tank and lake water levels. Soil moisture was decreasing. Some farmers were plowing fields for wheat planting. Cotton was maturing quickly, and plants shedding bolls were a concern with the heat and dry conditions. Sorghum harvest was complete with very low yields, and some fields went unharvested due to drought stress and no grain. Corn harvest finished. Grasses turned brown and were very dry, and hay was being fed to livestock. Cattle were being culled due to drought. Insect problems continued with grasshoppers plaguing the area.
Southwest
Moisture conditions declined due to hot, humid, dry and very windy weather. Corn and sorghum harvests continued, with most areas reporting average to good yields. Hay pastures were being baled. Some stunting was noticeable in cotton, particularly in dryland fields. Pasture and range conditions continued to decline, and more weeds were emerging. Pastures showed signs of drought stress, and livestock grazed with minimal dietary supplements. High temperatures were stressing livestock.
South Plains After tough 2022 and 2023 seasons resulted in high abandonment and prevented plantings, the South Plains rebounded with more cotton acreage this year, said Ken Lege, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension cotton agronomist and assistant professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Lubbock.
Lege said abandonment due to drought is expected in some areas, but that percentage is back to a normal level, and South Plains producers anticipate harvesting around 3 million acres.
Timely rains during planting and stand development, along with mild temperatures, helped, he said. Although some triple-digit high temperatures were scattered throughout June and July, several cool fronts returned temperatures to nearly average.
Dryland acres, which comprise around 80% of the South Plains cotton, were in good condition until the end of July. However, very hot and dry conditions have persisted, and dryland and irrigated acreage have declined somewhat, Lege said.
He rated the dryland cotton about 5% very good and 30% poor, with the rest somewhere between. Irrigated fields in the region are 5% excellent, 20% very good, 30% good, 25% fair and 20% poor.
“Again, continued heat and drought will push a higher percentage into the ‘poor’ category with each week,” he said. “Our biggest concern is the continued heat and drought. The two-week forecast shows even more heat and very few rain chances.”
Much of the dryland and light irrigated acres just started flowering, setting early bolls or approaching cutout, the last bloom to develop into a harvestable boll. Without some rain, many of those bolls may shed or may not develop as much lint as hoped, Lege said.
While it is too early for yield projections, Lege said the forecast suggests lower-than-expected yields with shorter fiber length.
“However, if rainfall returns and the heat is not as high as forecast, cotton can rebound and compensate very quickly,” he said. “But that relief needs to arrive sooner rather than later.”