Category Archives: Texas High Plains
2021 Texas High Plains Cotton Harvest-Aid Guide
Murilo Maeda, Extension Specialist – Cotton, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Wayne Keeling, Systems Agronomist, Texas A&M AgriLife Research INTRODUCTION Cotton is cultivated as an annual crop but is inherently a deciduous perennial. As such, it is a flexible crop that responds well to both environmental and management factors. Harvest-aid chemicals are generally used to facilitate mechanical harvest of a mature crop by promoting leaf abscission, boll opening, and desiccating plants for stripper harvest. Premature application of these chemicals can result in loss of lint… Read More →
Later Winter Oats to Bridge Forage Shortfall
In much of the Texas High Plains wheat pasture conditions are poor. There is likely a substantial shortfall in the grazing and hay from wheat. In previous years, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension has suggested farmers consider planting medium to long maturity oats, particularly for hay, to recapture needed forage for livestock. At some point in the Texas High Plains, there is substantial potential that any late-planted winter wheat will not receive the needed hours/days of cold weather, the chilling requirement, to ensure the transition from vegetative to… Read More →
Grain Variety Picks for Texas High Plains, 2020-2021 & Texas High Plains Wheat Production Summary, 2019-2020
Jourdan M. Bell, Assistant Professor and Agronomist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and Research, Amarillo, (806) 677-5600, jourdan.bell@ag.tamu.edu 2019-2020 Cropping Season in Review Variable rainfall in August and September resulted in varying planting conditions across the Texas High Plains. Some fields were planted with replenished soil moisture while other fields were dry sowed. October 2019 rains delivered valuable moisture for the region’s wheat crop. There was minimal winter precipitation through the central and northern Panhandle resulting in another dry winter. A prolonged winter drought resulted in many producers pulling… Read More →