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 Dr. Ken Stack, Dr. Gus Lorenz, Dr. Tom Barber and Clay County Extension Chair Andy Vangilder share stories following Monday's Clay County cotton meeting at the Rector Community Center. (Democrat photo/Ryan Rogers) [Click to enlarge] |
County extension agents Andy Vangilder, Ron Baker and Debbie Baker were joined by Extension economist Scott Stiles, cotton breeding specialist and director of the Extension research center at Keiser Dr. Fred Bourland, entomologist Dr. Gus Lorenz, Extension agronomist Dr. Tom Barber and weed scientist Dr. Ken Smith to discuss a variety of topics.
Following a cold and wet 2009, producers attending were looking for any good news the specialists could offer.
According to Stiles, the cotton market is showing signs of improvement. Following price drops and a decline in acreage over the last few years, the crop's sale value appears to be set for an increase in 2010.
"The market is looking better than it has in the last couple of years," Vangilder said. "That comes as a big relief for a lot of our producers."
Vangilder said representatives from nearly half of the county's total cotton acreage were in attendance at the meeting.
While the market appears to be headed for an upswing, there still are areas of concern.
Roundup resistant pigweed was visible in several Clay County fields last year. According to Dr. Stack, that makes an increased presence in 2010 likely. Dr. Stack said there were two types of pigweed which showed resistance to the popular herbicide, with one variety creating resistant offspring in patches around the progenitor, while the other type is more scattered due to producing non-resistant offspring. Dr. Stack said he had seen both varieties in local fields in 2009.
"It's coming and it's coming strong," Dr. Stack said.
Another concern is cotton pests. Dr. Lorenz noted the threat posed by slugs, cutworms, false chinch bugs, thrips, aphids, spider mites and plant bugs during the early part of the cotton season.
In addition to pesticides, Dr. Lorenz noted a few ways farmers can help protect their fields from pests. He encouraged producers to control broadleaf weeds near their fields at least three weeks prior to planting. This would require an herbicidal application around five to six weeks prior to planting.
Lorenz also noted edge effects, such as having a cotton field located next to a corn field, as a potential plant bug threat.
"When your corn silk starts turning brown, the plant bugs that are in the corn will move to your cotton," Dr. Lorenz said. "You can treat with an extra application of insecticide around that time to help protect against that."
Lorenz also told growers they could potentially avoid some of the plant bug presence by planting early and using early maturing cotton varieties.
Lorenz reminded growers of the importance of spraying only when needed, as beneficial insects are also susceptible to the chemicals used.
Dr. Lorenz offered words of encouragement, stating, "I think cotton is going to prevail. Acreage has been up and down, but I think it's going to prevail."
Dr. Barber discussed overall plant health, noting the rise of verticillium wilt in 2009 due to the cool, wet conditions in Clay County. He encouraged producers to keep a close eye on watering schedules, including holding back water as much as possible during cooler conditions to limit the verticillium risk. He also recommended using a seed rate of 45,000 during the typically ideal planting window of April 18 through May 20.
The meeting was offered as a way for local cotton producers to meet with cotton experts and gain insight on a number of topics and concerns.
"This is just a good way for our farmers to get an update on a lot of different things like new technology, new varieties and the consumer market," Vangilder said. "If we can answer just one question which helps out one of our farmers, then we've accomplished something."