Current Situation:
General Situation: Continued dry, and drier…2013 ended with the Texas Tech Mesonet recording 11.15 inches of precipitation for Brownfield and 11.24” for Plains. During January neither Brownfield, nor Plains recorded any measurable precipitation. These dry conditions may have delayed some observable weed growth; however, the typical winter annuals have emerged and are present in wheat and pastures.
Winter wheat has struggled, even under irrigation. According to the Texas ET Network, wheat in the late tillering stage has used an estimated 1.12 inches of water over the past seven days (ending 02/19/2014). Leaf damage from the extreme cold temperatures is easily noticed in most fields; this is only cosmetic injury as the growing point of plants I inspected were healthy. Wheat which will be carried to harvest should be fertilized as soon as possible, as to have the nitrogen “in the system” prior to the jointing stage. Applying nitrogen prior to jointing will have the most significant impact on yield. Dr. Calvin Trostle, Extension Agronomist, provides some good details about the need for nitrogen prior to jointing, as well as a description of “jointing” in this Terry-Yoakum IPM blog posting: http://agrilife.org/yoakumterryipm/?p=638.
Current field preparations should include application of residual herbicides which will provide pre-emergent control of problem weeds. A key factor to the effectiveness of these products is incorporation. Two passes with the field cultivator will provide better incorporation than will a stock chopper or irrigation. Be sure to read the label for complete incorporation details. Additionally, these herbicides will begin breaking down almost as soon as they are applied, mostly due to UV light resulting from sunlight. Therefore timely incorporation is also important. Plan now for addition residual herbicide use at planting.
Cotton variety selection is often considered the single most import factor which a grower has control over in cotton farming. Dr. Mark Kelley, Extension Cotton Agronomist has posted the results of area large plot variety trials on the Lubbock Research and Extension Center web site at this url: http://lubbock.tamu.edu/files/2014/02/2013-Yield-and-HVI-Tables-Texas-High-Plains.pdf.
Verticillium wilt causes significant yield reductions in certain fields in this area. Drs. Terry Wheeler (Research Pathologist) and Jason Woodward (Extension Pathologist) have provided the results of verticillium wilt trials conducted across the region in 2013: http://lubbock.tamu.edu/files/2013/12/2013-Cotton-Variety-Trial-Results-Verticillium-wilt1.pdf .
Private Pesticide Applicator Training will be conducted at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Office, Terry County Office, on Thursday, February 27 at 8:30AM. This training will prepare an individual to take the Texas Department of Agriculture pesticide license exam for private applicators. A private applicator is an individual who applies pesticides to their own property for the production of an agricultural commodity, not for hire. Please call (806-637-8792) to RSVP by Wednesday, February 26 at 5:00PM.
Location: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Terry County, 209 South 5th, Brownfield, TX
FEE: $50.00 per person.
