Lubbock, Texas
June 15, 2005
The 2005 crop season on the Texas High Plains is
off to a rocky start. Abundant spring moisture provided ideal
planting conditions for cotton, corn and peanut producers and
gave winter wheat a necessary drink of water.
The situation changed dramatically near the end of May, as
spring thunderstorms swept across the region bringing high
winds, tornados, hail and beating rains.
An estimated 200,000 to 300,000 acres of cotton in a 41-county
area surrounding Lubbock have suffered "environmental damage,"
and at least 150,000 acres are reported severely damaged or
lost, according to reports at the June 10 Plains Cotton Growers
cotton advisory board meeting.
Those estimates will likely be ratcheted upward by the end of
June. Since the meeting, early summer storms have damaged
additional acreage in several counties around Lubbock.
"We still don't have a concrete tally on the full extent of the
damage," said Dr. Randy Boman,
Texas Cooperative
Extension agronomist based at Lubbock. "But we have received
preliminary damage estimates from all county agents in the
region."
The cotton-producing region surrounding Lubbock is often known
as "the world's largest cotton patch," because farmers there
typically plant more than 50 percent of the state's 5-million to
6-million acre cotton crop. About 20 percent of the region's 3.5
million to 3.6 million cotton acres doesn't survive to be
harvested due to weather, insects, disease or other maladies.
Producers hit by recent storms should carefully evaluate damage
in their fields before making any replant decisions, Boman said.
"We have two cotton-specific documents and one document geared
for alternative crop options available online at
http://lubbock.tamu.edu/cotton," Boman said. "The cotton
documents are 'Effects of Stand Loss and Skips on Cotton Yields'
and 'Making Replant Decisions.'
"The bottom line in deciding whether to replant cotton is what's
left out there and what shape it's in. You have to carefully
evaluate the uniformity of the remaining crop stand and the
condition of the surviving plants," he said.
If two or more cotton plants per foot of row survive without too
many long skips, the stand still may be good enough for optimum
lint production, Boman said. 'Skips' are bare spots devoid of
any plants.
"A study conducted from 1981 to 1984 at the Texas A&M University
System Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Lubbock
looked at how skips affect yield," Boman said. "In that study, a
'normal stand' of cotton had about 4.0 to 4.7 plants per foot of
row and skips varying from 6 inches to 9 feet in length. A stand
reduction of 25 percent, with 3.0 to 3.5 plants per foot of row,
reduced lint yields by about 13 percent.
"A 50 percent stand reduction, with about 2.0 to 2.5 plants per
foot of row, resulted in a 26 percent loss of potential lint
yield. The profitability of replanting damaged stands depends on
the date and your location. Even so, most farmers would be
ill-advised to replant a stand averaging 2.0 plants per foot of
row or more after June 10. It just wouldn't pencil out
economically."
Significant yield reduction can occur in solid stands of
irrigated cotton once plant density drops below an average of
1.5 healthy plants per foot of row, Boman added.
"Making Replant Decisions" can help producers evaluate remaining
crop stands, stand uniformity, and the health of surviving
plants. It also contains information on how planting dates
affect yield potential, tips for weighing the costs and benefits
of replanting, and management considerations for replanted
cotton.
Another publication, "2005 Alternative Crop Options After Failed
Cotton and Late-Season Crop Planting for the Texas South
Plains," can help producers evaluate their 'catch' crop options.
"There are numerous alternative crop options for failed cotton
acres through July 1," said Dr. Calvin Trostle, Extension
agronomist based at Lubbock. "Your choices may be limited by the
herbicides used on failed cotton acres and the calendar. As we
move towards late June, shorter maturity crops may be necessary
to fit the remaining growing season."
This publication covers herbicide considerations, compliance
with government farm programs, and realistic expectations for
replant crops. It also provides planting and management tips for
grain sorghum, soybeans, guar, summer forages, peas, sesame,
peanuts and corn.
"This information is relevant for areas from Midland and Big
Spring north to Amarillo, and from off the Caprock west to the
first tier of counties in southeastern New Mexico," Trostle
said.
A June 3 press release from the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication
Foundation reminded producers with failed cotton acres to do a
thorough job of destroying any remaining plants in their fields.
"If High Plains growers fail their cotton before the
certification date and keep it free of fruiting cotton for the
remainder of the season, they qualify for a credit on their
assessment," said Charles Allen, program director of the
foundation.
Producers in weevil-eradication zones pay for the eradication
program through a fee assessed on cotton acres.
Plowing down plants on failed acres also deprives weevils of a
safe haven in which to feed, reproduce and then move into other
fields.
A weekly update on crop conditions across the High Plains is
available through Extension's "Focus" newsletter, published
electronically at
http://lubbock.tamu.edu/focus. |