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Cotton Harvesting Still Running Late In Texas High Plains, West Central Rolling Plains
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS
Cotton was late to mature throughout the state this year, but timely rains and favorable conditions during the fall resulted in a good year for many growers, according to Dr. Gaylon Morgan, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service state cotton specialist, College Station.
Central Texas, South Texas and Coastal Bend cotton fields were all harvested more than a month ago, and most producers were quite pleased with their dryland and irrigated crops, Morgan said. As usual, each district had its own challenges.
On Dec. 2, cotton modules in a drip-irrigated field near Lubbock await being taken to the gin.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo by Dr. Gaylon Morgan
The Panhandle, South Plains, Rolling Plains, West Central and Far West Texas cotton harvests are all in various stages of completion, and the last modules will all be late making it to the gins this year, he said.
But statewide, it turned out to be a better year than past years for most growers, despite the late start, Morgan said. The spring was cooler than normal and delayed planting, and a late spring cold front in April hurt emerged cotton from the upper Gulf Coast northward. Some areas received too much rain, while others got too little. Glyphosate-resistant pigweed posed some challenges for producers, but were manageable in 2014. Also, fall rains in September and early October delayed the winding up of harvest and stalk destruction, he said. ∆
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