AgFax Cotton - Louisiana
By AgFax.com, AgFax Media LLC
OVERVIEW
Cotton is squaring on a wider basis this week. The crop in Louisiana – where dry conditions have prevailed – received rain across a wide area early in the week.
Plant bugs are ramping up in places and treatments have started. According to this week's contacts, counts are mostly light, with scattered hot spots. Some treatments were being made.
A bollworm flight has taken shape and in parts of Arkansas the numbers are unusually high.
Aphids and spider mites are present in parts of Louisiana.
LOUISIANA CROP REPORTS
Sebe Brown, Northeast Louisiana Region Extension Entomologist:
"Plant bug numbers are variable. A lot of cotton is starting to square and in places it's being carried off by plant bugs. In other cotton, people aren't finding any plant bugs and are wondering if something is wrong. Obviously, some treatments are going out but not everywhere.
"I'm still getting calls about thrips. People have these cases where fields are at 7 to 8 true leaves or even 8-node plants but also have 2-leaf cotton in the same field due to soil changes, for example. Those guys are still spraying thrips in parts of fields where cotton is growing slowly. Dry, hot weather has kind of thrown things off.
"Mites are showing up in the northwestern part of the state in the Red River Valley. Some people treated for mites or at least considered it before the rain came through. We got a pretty good shower in places today (6/5), and we hope that helps some of this 'mitey' cotton. Sporadic cotton aphids are colonizing some cotton in northeast Louisiana but it's nothing treatable."
Dan Fromme, Louisiana Extension Cotton and Corn Specialist:
"We got about an inch of rain today (6/5) across about half of the state, mostly in the middle part of Louisiana. That will do some good for both corn and cotton, and we sure needed it. Cotton is squaring now and that started in older cotton about 2 weeks ago.
"We'll need another rain by the end of the month as cotton moves into bloom. That will start in late June and into the first few days of July. So far, cotton hasn't suffered much with this dry weather but it will need water at bloom. We're holding off on Pix since it has been on the dry side but with this rain I expect that people will start applying some. Northeast Louisiana has been a little better off as far as rain goes."
Richard Griffing, Griffing Consulting, LLC, Monterey, Louisiana:
"Our cotton is mostly between nodes 8 to 10 and squaring pretty well. A lot of plant bugs are moving in and spider mites are present but are still fairly light. We did spray maybe a third of our acres for mites about 2 weeks ago.
"So far (6/4), we've sprayed about 20% of our acres for plant bugs and the rest will be treated within a week. Every field I've been in this week will have to be sprayed for plant bugs. They're mostly coming off levees. I'm also picking up a fair number of plant bugs in soybeans, plus it seems like every cotton field I have this year borders corn on 2 sides. Along with that, winter hosts are drying down, so some movement is likely starting off that.
"We do have a 40% to 80% chance of rain tomorrow (6/5). The amount in the last forecast I saw was 0.3 of an inch. We wouldn't turn it down. We're watering corn hard and watering beans, too. So far, we haven't started irrigating cotton but will be before long if the weather remains dry."