AgFax Midsouth Cotton - Louisiana
By AgFax Media LLC, AgFax.com
OVERVIEW
More cotton is blooming in at least the southern half of the region.
Plant bug numbers and treatments are increasing through much of our coverage area. However, nobody has reported runaway situations. Some immatures are turning up, too. Aphids are around and scattered applications have been made over the last week, but plant bug treatments have likely suppressed aphid issues.
Bollworms will likely become more of a factor in cotton and soybeans over the next week in portions of the Midsouth. Eggs have turned up on a few terminals and bloom tags in Louisiana.
Rains from last week's tropical system, Cindy, dumped ample amounts of rain in the more southerly and eastern portions of our coverage area. In places, soils already were saturated before the storm came ashore. Most of the region, though, missed the brunt of the system.
LOUISIANA CROP REPORTS
Steve Schutz, Ind. Consultant, Coushatta, Louisiana
"With this last round of rain, most of the area I work received 2 inches but around Natchitoches the amounts ran up to 9 inches in places and in the Coushatta area the totals ranged from 2 to 5 inches. In areas I work in southwest Arkansas it rained maybe a half-inch to 1.5 inches, and they never cut off the irrigation pumps.
"Our cotton is into bloom and we're starting treatments for plant bugs and fleahoppers. In soybeans, insects are hit or miss. We've treated redbanded stink bugs in a few fields and sprayed some this morning (6/26). A client called to say they were obvious where he was laying irrigation pipe, and I'll check that tomorrow.
"In corn, we're 2 weeks from black layer. With these latest rains, a lot of my corn doesn't need further irrigation."
Ashley Peters, Peters Crop Consulting, Crowville, Louisiana
"Rain has been somewhat isolated and spotty. In 3 days (from 6/26) it rained 1.5 to 2 inches where I live, but in other areas people received that much out of just one rain and then it rained that much more the next day. Considering this was a tropical system, I'm thankful we didn't get more than that.
"In cotton, we're preparing to do plenty of Pix and plant bug work. We now have a lot of blooming cotton and are picking up both adult and immature plant bugs. In places, fertilizer went out ahead of rains in the last 2 weeks, so we definitely need to start up Pix to get a handle on growth.
"Corn is starting to dent and a little may be fully dented now. It hasn't lacked for moisture. Some guys rolled out polypipe and watered corn once or twice. Others put pipe in place but have yet to irrigate at all. We've probably sprayed more fungicides on corn than in the last few years. Some growers who've never used a fungicide on corn did so for the first time, while others who've never sprayed much did quite a bit.
"A few stink bugs are turning up in soybeans here and there, probably moving in as corn dries down."
Sebe Brown, Northeast Louisiana Region Extension Entomologist
"Quite a few more cotton fields are starting to bloom. Even with more blooming, we're really not catching a lot more plant bugs. They're actually kind of quiet, which is the opposite of what we thought would happen.
"We do have hot spots, but overall numbers are pretty low, even where cotton is blooming. Growers are making applications but we're not in a wall-to-wall spraying situation. It's more on a field-by-field basis. I'm not hearing much about aphids, and applications for plant bugs may be taking care of them.
"Some bollworm egg laying has started on tags or terminals. It's nothing widespread but worms are starting to cycle out of corn and are moving into the next host – if not soybeans, then they're moving into cotton.
"Soybeans are quiet. Most calls have been from people wondering if they're missing anything. Where people are finding something, it's scattered redbanded stink bugs (RBSB). Once soybeans hit R5, it's like you've thrown a switch and RBSB quickly move into the field. Otherwise, we haven't seen much that would warrant a treatment in soybeans."