Lubbock, Texas
July 6, 2004
The 3.6 million-acre South Plains
cotton crop has so far survived a gamut of harsh weather since
producers broke out their planters in May. Rain, hail, wind,
blowing sand and lack of rainfall in some areas have taken an
estimated 100,000 acres of the crop.
Even so, a Texas Cooperative Extension agronomist says the
bigger picture is pretty bright.
"We have seen cooler, wetter conditions with higher humidity
during the past two weeks, but the crop is still above normal in
heat unit accumulation," said Randy Boman, Extension cotton
agronomist based at Lubbock. "The rainfall from recent storms
has put the crop north of Lubbock in very good to excellent
condition.
"We do have some ragged-up cotton out there, but by and large,
most fields are doing very well. In my eight seasons at Lubbock,
I haven't seen overall stands and crop conditions as impressive
as they are now. Many fields that were planted in a timely
manner in May are now squaring."
Texas farmers planted approximately 6 million acres of cotton
this year, from the Rio Grande Valley near Brownsville to the
Texas-New Mexico border in the west, and as far north as some
counties near Amarillo.
The 20-county area surrounding Lubbock is often know as "the
world's largest cotton patch," because farmers there typically
plant more than 3 million acres of upland cotton each year.
Approximately 10 percent of that acreage, never makes it to
harvest due to weather, insects, disease or other causes.
Wind, driving rain and hailstorms in June took about 85,000
acres of cotton in Randall, Castro, Briscoe, Swisher, Floyd,
Hockley and Lamb counties. In contrast, many dryland acres in
counties south of Lubbock may be lost, or teetering on the edge
of survival, due to lack of rainfall.
"We believe that up to 200,000 acres of dryland cotton south of
Lubbock was dry planted and likely did not receive any
significant rainfall," Boman said. "Some dryland fields have
received little rainfall and may not have emerged to a good
stand. The situation is changing daily, as evening thunderstorms
continue to work across the region. As we move into July, the
cotton calendar is now working against us."
Producers hit by recent storms should carefully evaluate their
damaged fields before making any replant decisions, Boman said.
There is a host of information on evaluating damaged crops,
making replant decisions, and choosing catch crops to replace
failed cotton on the Internet at:
http://lubbock.tamu.edu.
"Making Replant Decisions" and "2004 Alternative Crop Options
After Failed Cotton" in the cotton section of the Lubbock Web
site may be particularly helpful for producers with crop damage.
Overall, the 2004 Texas cotton crop is off to a strong start and
is progressing well, according to Carl Anderson, Extension
economist based at College Station. In the June edition of his
monthly "Cotton Market Comments," Anderson rates half the crop
in good to excellent condition and only 11 percent as very poor.
About one-third of this year's six-million-acre crop is
irrigated and two-thirds is dryland. Excellent sub-soil moisture
conditions give the crop a yield potential of at least 5.3
million bales, compared to last year's 4.3-million bales,
Anderson said.
Cotton harvest has begun in the Rio Grande Valley, while
producers elsewhere are waiting for drier conditions to finish
out their growing season. Meanwhile, South Plains producers will
be watching the skies for evening storms that could bring more
rainfall or crop damage.
A weekly update on crop conditions across the South Plains is
available through Extension's "Focus" newsletter – published
electronically at
http://lubbock.tamu.edu/focus.
College Station, Texas
July 7, 2004
Although cotton in some areas is
still lagging behind, in other areas it is gaining momentum in
its growth, reports Texas Cooperative Extension.
An estimated 3.6 million acres of cotton planted in the South
Plains has survived excessive rain, hail and wind, said Dr.
Randal Boman, Extension cotton agronomist in Lubbock.
Approximately 100,000 acres did not.
However, most cotton in that area is in very good to excellent
condition due to the recent moisture, Boman said.
"We do have some ‘ragged-up' cotton out there, but by and large,
most fields are doing very well. In my eight seasons at Lubbock,
I haven't seen overall stands and crop conditions as impressive
as they are now," he said.
Producers in Lubbock plant more than 3 million acres of cotton
each year. However, 10 percent of that acreage never makes it to
harvest due to insects, weather and disease.
Dr. Travis Miller, associate department head of soil and crop
sciences at Texas A&M University,
said about 6 million acres of cotton were planted this year in
Texas, a 7 percent increase from 2002 and 2003.
"Part of this increase in acreage planted was due to wet
planting conditions for earlier planted crops," he said.
Damage caused to this year's crop by insects no more significant
than in years past, he said. Large-scale boll weevil eradication
programs have reduced the need for pesticide applications,
Miller said.
"The prolonged wet weather damaged quite a few acres of cotton
along the mid- to upper coast, resulting in a short, stunted
crop that terminated growth early," he said.
Producers are having a hard time replanting because the fields
are still soggy, Miller said.
Arlan Gentry, Extension agent in Yoakum County, said about
125,000 to 130,000 acres of cotton were planted there. Drought,
extreme heat, high winds and sand have taken their toll on
cotton in this area, he said.
Some cotton will have to be replanted, most likely with grain
sorghum. Most cotton will be able to rebound, except for some of
the dryland fields which are lacking moisture, Gentry said.
According to Galen Chandler, district Extension administrator in
Vernon, about 95 percent of the cotton has been planted on the
Rolling Plains. Some has been replanted due to excessive rains,
but most has the potential to be an excellent crop.
Jose Pena, Extension economist in Uvalde said, "Overall, the
crop is making much better progress than last year's
drought-stricken crop. Eighty-one percent of this year's crop is
rated as fair or better compared to only 64 percent last year's
crop at this same time. (The U.S. Department of Agriculture)
rates the statewide cotton condition at 70 percent of normal
compared with 54 percent last year."
Recent warm, clear weather and good moisture has allowed cotton
to make significant progress. Conditions have improved so much
that plant growth regulators have been used to help control
excessive vegetative growth in some fields, Pena said.
"We have the potential of over two bales per acre cotton in
irrigated fields and about one bale per acre in the High Plains
planted under dryland conditions," he said. |