The parched Texas Panhandle and South Plains are enjoying scattered showers, but there’s concern about whether irrigation wells will have enough water to push the crop home, notes Randy Boman, Windstar cotton agronomics manager.
Boman stated, “Growers who planted late in the Panhandle and Claude area east of Amarillo picked up from 3 to 6 inches of rain just over a week ago. That late cotton should respond to the timely moisture. A break in temperatures this week should help those and other regional growers who have faced many 100-degree days and continued drought.”
Boman noted that some of the better cotton is around the Top of Texas Gin east of Hereford. Crops in Oklahoma also look a little better after facing bad growing conditions most of the season. But much of the Oklahoma and West Texas region remains dry and, irrigation wells are being pressed.
“Some producers are reaching the end of their rope with respect to irrigation. Unless they get good rain soon, they won’t have a good harvest season,” added Boman.
“Anyone sharing a pivot with corn and cotton is likely seeing stress in both crops. Since corn is maturing, growers may be able to move more water from corn to cotton. Unfortunately, it might be too late to produce strong yields while that should provide better maturity.
“I’m receiving a lot of questions about PGR applications. It all depends on the availability of irrigation. I’m also receiving a few complaints about herbicide drift. Despite the poor crop year, guys need to remember to follow the label on applications.
“A lot of growers are down. It has been a brutal year. Anyone unhappy about their crop situation would feel a lot better if we received more rain in another two weeks.”