AgFax Cotton - Louisiana
By AgFax Media LLC, AgFax.com
OVERVIEW
Open bolls are becoming more obvious across a wider area and a small amount of defoliation could crank up this week in Louisiana.
More fields are being terminated as far as worms and bugs go. Some later cotton will be carried farther into the month. Also, spider mite applications will continue in northeast Arkansas and probably in the Missouri Bootheel.
The crop is shaping up nicely, with great potential across plenty of acres.
LOUISIANA CROP REPORTS
Gary Wolfe, La-Ark Agricultural Consulting, Ida, Louisiana:
"In the cotton I'm checking in Arkansas, there's no insect pressure and hasn't been all year. It rained big time yesterday (8/12) and has rained over the last few days. I'm seeing some boll rot and hard locking now toward the bottom. To make 3-bale cotton, you need those bottom bolls, so we sure want this rain to move out.
"Overall, though, the crop really looks good right now. The important part of what I just said are the words, 'right now'.
"In places, cotton went for 100 days without rain. Some of that looks terrible, some doesn't look too bad. I'm pleased with how the irrigated cotton has shaped up. Some of our prettiest cotton was watered up and we continued watering it until just now. In places, cotton was chest high but it's maybe knee-high now because it has that kind of boll load.
"We applied Pix on one farm and included an insecticide as a preventive, and that will be our last shot there. Some cotton is still going and we'll probably spray part of that again.
"In soybeans, we sprayed one patch for green cloverworms. The grower was going to water, so we wouldn't be able to get in by ground right away. Plenty of moths were flying around, so we went after them."
Sebe Brown, Northeast Louisiana Region Extension Entomologist:
"Things are winding down in cotton, particularly where it was planted early or on a timely schedule. We're seeing quite a few open bolls, especially with this current round of heat and sunshine. A little defoliation may start this week in a little April-planted cotton.
"The final plant bug and stink bug applications are going out on plenty of acres. Except for some really late cotton, worms are behind us.
"In soybeans, we're seeing a good deal more fields being desiccated or close to that point. Loopers and velvetbean caterpillars are still hit or miss. Stink bugs aren't very widespread, either. A lot of soybeans haven't been sprayed for anything this year, which is very, very unusual in Louisiana. A consultant said that this was the cleanest he's seen soybeans in a decade."