Photo by Josh McGinty.)
Resistance issues
He said producers need to be ready to go early in the season. Identifying key problem weeds is essential. He cited pigweed, common waterhemp and careless weed as resistance challenges.
“Pigweed and waterhemp are prolific seed producers,” McGinty said. “One female plant can producer 200,000 or more seed and may exceed one million under favorable conditions.”
He said these weeds have shown resistance to atrazine, glyphosate, and ALS herbicides in South Texas.
He said pre-plant incorporated/preemergence herbicides are critical in managing these weeds. In cotton, he recommends a preplant/pre-plant incorporated application with yellow herbicides. He would add a preemergence application of Cotoran/Caparol plus a group 15 product. In sorghum, he recommends atrazine plus a group 15 herbicide. “We may have mesotrione as an option in the near future.”
Benjamin Crumley
Flooded cotton field near Pierce, Texas. Two inches of rain a godsend for Corpus Christi growers, 5 to 7 inches near El Campo floods fields.
Suggested Event
Jun 15, 2021 to Jun 17, 2021
The early May weekend rain that inundated much of South Texas was both blessing and curse, depending on geography.
For farmers in the Corpus Christi area, the 2 inches of rain was a godsend. “This was a million-dollar rain for Nueces and San Patricio counties,” says Josh Mcginty, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension specialist, Corpus Christi.
On the flip side, Clyde Crumley, an independent crop consultant in El Campo, says many of his cotton clients were hard hit.
Jason Ott, Texas A&M AgriLife
A May 11-workshop, offered in-person and virtually, is to provide insight into the carbon economy and how producers can possibly benefit. Carbon Farming in Texas, workshop scheduled for May 11.
Suggested Event
Aug 31, 2021 to Sep 02, 2021
A workshop, Carbon Farming in Texas, will be presented May 11 in Robstown by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.
The objective of the free event is to provide growers with insight into what is bringing about interest in carbon farming and identify current opportunities in carbon markets, as well as discuss practices that should be feasible in the Coastal Bend area.
Rio Grande Valley cotton. Growers are preparing to plant the 2021 crop. Growers replant corn after a devastating February freeze, while dryland cotton farmers wait on a rain.
South Texas cotton producers are taking a wait and see attitude as they watch temperatures and soil moisture and finish planting or replanting grain crops.
The mid-February freeze damaged some early-planted crops from the Coastal Bend into the Rio Grande Valley, according to Extension specialists Danielle Sekula, and Josh McGinty and South Texas Cotton, Grain Association Executive Director Jeff Nunley and Webb Wallace, executive director, Cotton and Grain Producers of the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
Soil health in cotton production to top Feb. 9 seminar. Healthy Soils for Sustainable Cotton Farmer Showcase discusses cover crops, improving soil moisture and increasing soil organic matter levels.
Soil health and cotton production in Texas will take center stage Feb. 9, 2021, during the virtual Healthy Soils for Sustainable Cotton Farmer Showcase.
The event, sponsored by the Soil Health Institute, will feature discussions between two Texas producers and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension specialists about the challenges and benefits of adopting practices to improve soil health.
Topics to be covered include managing cover crops to minimize water use; improving soil moisture levels; and increasing soil organic matter levels.