Cotton ranges from 5 leaf stage to 13 true leaves with square set good at +90%.
As of today, I have not seen a single cotton bloom. I do anticipate seeing a few first blooms this coming weekend (July12-15).
However, I do not anticipate seeing a blooming field (when +50% of plants are blooming in a field) until after July 20. We typical go into bloom with 8 nodes above white flower. To do this, we need to form 4 additional squares. It will take 3 days per square to form, this equates to 11-12 days. This places first bloom on July 20th on this more progressed field. Majority of fields then will be after this date.
Cotton insect pests remain very quiet. In the IPM Scouting Program we have noted only an occasional fleahopper, and no Lygus (only finding them in weedy bar-ditches) or stink bugs. We can find grasshoppers on field margins near rangeland. Beneficial insect and arachnid numbers are surprisingly good in some fields, though limited food source is available. I suspect these are residual populations from wheat.
Weeds continue to be the most dominate pest. A long-varied list of weed species noted throughout all three counties. If you need help identifying a weed and coming up with a control plan, give me a call.
Remember, these weeds serve as host to many of our cotton pests.
A good majority of you have received some rain over the last week. Some more, some less. Cotton should respond well to these rain showers, especially dryland acres. Obviously there have been major hurdles to get to this point and most likely some of those will continue.
I am optimistic for most of our area dryland and irrigated cotton. In fact, you may need to add to your “to do” list an application of an PGR if you have not already done so. Between many now considering upping their fertilizer game, and good soil moisture going into July, cotton plants should make good progress in growth.