Cotton Production in Arkansas
Response to the Challenges of 2006
Overview of 2005:
Second best crop ever 1011 lb lint/A - 1114 lb/A in 2004 standing record.
We rank 3rd behind California and Arizona.
We picked 2.2 m bales breaking our previous record of 2.085 m last year.
We ranked 2nd behind TX (last year, 2004, we were 3rd behind Mississippi, prior to that
we are generally 4 to 5)
We did this in spite of a dry year. A few well timed rains and a hefty irrigation
bill were dominating factors (we are 75% irrigated). Perhaps set a new record
for production costs as well.
We appear to be locked into a situation where record or near record yields
are necessary to stay in business. Going into the 2005 crop year our 10-year
yield average is 804 lb lint/A and a 5-year average of 889 lbs of lint/A.
Outlook for 2006:
There will be fewer cotton farmers in 2006. Some are getting out or retiring
before they lose any more equity. Some getting out because there is not a choice.
Finances are tough. Lack of significant rainfall has cast great doubt as to
the outlook for this season.
This season I have started my production talks with the above information.
I have used this to stage recommendations for getting off to a good start.
Soil Samples – We must know what we have to work with or to work around.
To do this samples for nematodes as well as fertility are necessary.
Start clean – Regardless of the tillage system or cover crops used, we
must be clean at planting. The uses of residual herbicides are necessary to
stay clean and to aid in a resistance management program to help sustain the
viability of glyphosate.
Variety/Technology Selection – Don’t make widespread changes in
varieties or technologies based on one year experience. A bag of the new BGII/RF
cotton can cost as much as $500 if ordered with seed treatments to include a
nematicide, insecticide, and fungicide products. This includes a technology
fee that can be as much as $64/A for the BGII/RF. A bag of seed will plant around
five acres. We recommend growers plant 2/3 of their farm with varieties they
are familiar with and that will work on their farm. Experiment with new varieties
and technologies on about 10% of the farm. Things that look good in the experimental
portion last year may be expanded into the remaining ¼ of the farm. This
allows a producer to gain knowledge and experience with new varieties or technologies
while maintaining stability.
Insect control – Gus has stressed the importance of following the University
recommendation for control of insect pests. Automatic sprays for the sake of
convenience has little benefit and can often have great consequences if made
in the absence treatment levels of pest populations. As an example, many producers
made many more insecticide applications for plant bugs than was made in our
CRVP fields. We made 1.2 applications. I have visited with many who made 4 –
5 applications.
Timing of inputs – Cotton is very sensitive to irrigation timings. Lack
of proper timing of the initial irrigation can be costly in terms of lost yield
potential. Timing of subsequent irrigations is also critical to maintain earliness
and yield potential. Fertility rates may be lowered as timing of application
is more in sync with plant needs. This will require more field by field management.
Crop Monitoring and Termination - Monitoring NAWF (nodes above white flower)
beginning at first flower is a very effective tool to help gauge the potential
of a field. Fields with a high potential may be pushed to help capture the additional
potential. Cutout is established based on NAWF values (NAWF=5). Cutout defines
the last effective boll population or the last group of boll that will contribute
to significantly to yield and profit. Guidelines for insecticide and irrigation
termination and harvest aide timings are based on this population of bolls.
Cotton is a perennial. To make money with a crop that grows and responds to
the environment more like a tree than our other row crop commodities we not
only worry about doing the right thing, we have to do it at the right time.
It is becoming more and more critical to base management on a field by field
basis. There is not much to cut. We can increase efficiency of our inputs by
paying particular attention to when and how we make them. Doing things right
the first time will help avoid problems associated with replanting or retreating
fields for pests, to helping maintaining earliness and the yield and fiber quality
potentials necessary to stay in business.
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