Arkansas

The big story in Arkansas cotton production is the changeable and extreme spring weather pattern.

"The old saying, 'If you don't like Arkansas' weather, just wait five minutes, and it'll change,' has never been truer," said Dr. Bill Robertson, cotton agronomist for the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.

"April was about as wet a month as we've ever had; May was about as dry as we've ever had," he said. "In early May, we had nights that got down into the 30s. We set records for cold temperatures, now we're having record high temperatures."

He said weather extremes have taken a toll on the 980,000-acre crop.

Since weather wasn't generally cooperative at planting, farmers in some areas of the state have weak stands of cotton.

"We may lose yield potential in the weak stands. And now, because of dry weather, plants are growing really slowly. We're losing days on the front end of the crop that will be hard to get back. For fruiting cotton--if we're not timely in irrigation--the yields will be negatively impacted."

Because farmers have to lay miles of irrigation tubing--sometimes hundreds of miles on larger farms--they can spend a week just laying tubing. If they wait until it's time to start watering to lay out tubing, the delay could hurt farmers in the pocketbook , Robertson warned.

Frank Groves, Cotton Research Verification Program coordinator, said many farmers in southeast Arkansas have gotten good rains, and their cotton generally looks good. But hot, dry weather in southwest, central and northeast Arkansas has slowed cotton growth.

"Late April- and early May-planted cotton should be squaring, but we're running late. I figure we're going to be a week to 10 days late on growth development," the agronomist said.

In central and northern Arkansas, farmers should be watering their cotton if it is squaring, or fruiting. Moisture stress on squaring cotton can hurt yields. "Some farmers need to water now.

They can't wait on the weatherman," Robertson said.

Thrips, an insect, are typically a problem in young cotton. Because of the slowed growth rate of cotton, Robertson said he's seeing larger cotton than normal being treated for thrips. Meanwhile, hot, dry weather has encouraged another cotton pest, spider mites.

"If we continue with hot dry weather, boll worms could become an issue," said Robertson. "A lot of things could be cured with a really good rain. A good July and August will cure a lot of heartache and pain that May and June cause. But if we're dry in May and June, the chances of having a good July and August are kind of slim."

He said many farmers are fertilizing their cotton in a timely fashion. He noted that only about half of the normal residual nitrogen in soil carried over from last year's crop, according to test results on soil samples he's seen. Farmers need to stay on top of fertility, but be aware that too little or too much nitrogen can hurt the crop, he said.

Meanwhile, cotton producers are looking at a more expensive year.

"Inputs, costs that go into producing cotton, are high. People can relate to that when they fill their tanks up with gasoline. Inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides are made from petroleum. Then, manufacturers have to get them to market, and transportation cost is impacted by high fuel prices. Everything is going up for farmers but the price of the crop."

For more information on cotton production, contact your county Extension agent. The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the U of A Division of Agriculture.

Date: 6/23/05

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