 |
Field and Forage Crops |
Due to the prolonged dry summer and excessive rainfall approximately 7 to 10 days ago, regrowth in opening cotton is already substantial. Until defoliation treatments are made, this generally unproductive growth will increase. This is evolving as a rough season for defoliation.
For the most part, insects such as bollworms, stink bugs, beet and fall armyworms, and cotton aphids developing on regrowth are of little economic consequence. Even where regrowth develops to the point of forming small bolls, these late-developing bolls are not likely to contribute to yield, and thus are not in need of protection from insects. In some late-maturing cotton fields, with a continuous gradation of larger to medium sized bolls that are still filling out, protection from stink bugs and bollworms may be in order. This situation, however, would be very unusual at this time of year, and threshold levels for small bolls would likely be five to ten-fold greater than observed during the late July to early August period of maximum susceptibility.
Be sure to attend the September 11 Cotton Field Day at the upper Coastal Plain Research Station near Rocky Mount. Registration and exhibits begin at 12:30 p.m., with the field tours beginning at 1:30 p.m. Many aspects of weed and insect management will be covered, along with agronomic considerations such as hill dropped and skip row planting systems, the influence of Roundup and Pix applications on boll retention, the compatibility of Pix plus Staple and other similar herbicides, and defoliation decision making. Also covered will be an official variety trial of 56 commercial and experimental lines, nematode management, electronic yield monitoring, and other items of interest. A barbecue and chicken dinner will be served around 5:30 p.m., followed by a brief program.
Employment and program opportunities are offered to all people regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments cooperating.
Last modified on September 9, 2002 by Stephen J. Toth, Jr.