By Ken Legé, Texas A&M AgriLife Cotton Extension Specialist for the Lubbock Center
Hopefully some of you were off work for the Memorial Day holiday because you received rainfall! Portions of the region had small to significant rainfall amounts overnight with continued chances (albeit small) for the next 7-10 days. Unfortunately, rain during this time of year can be accompanied by hail, but this is nothing new for West Texas.
Soil temperatures everywhere in the region are quite warm and should not be a hindrance to planting cotton. Soil moisture is altogether different and quite varied across the region. Generally, areas Lubbock northward are ‘drought-free’ according to the U.S. Drought Monitor (https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/). However, this does not mean that surface moisture will be in good shape, so monitoring soil moisture and gauging how deep to place the seed will be key. The good news is that the forecasts do not show any significant wind events (beyond that which accompanies an isolated storm, of course).
The Texas panhandle area is facing a rather mild week, with some warming next week. Rain chances throughout this week should help with surface soil moisture, but may complicate getting the remainder of the crop in before the May 31 insurance deadline. Of course, insurance coverage includes a 1% per day reduction during the grace period following the deadline. Contact your insurance agent or RMA for more details. Suffice it to say, it is time to finish planting the cotton crop in the Texas panhandle!
Portions of the southern high plains received some badly needed rainfall overnight, but there are still isolated areas that are really dry. U.S. Drought Monitor still has most of the areas south of Lubbock as ‘D0 abnormally dry’ or ‘D1 moderate drought’ conditions, so any rain in those areas will be key to planting cotton. A few northern counties of the southern high plains area have a May 31 planting deadline, but the central counties generally have a June 5 deadline. Southern counties have a June 10 for irrigated and June 20 deadline for dryland. Again, it is important to check with your insurance agent or RMA for details about your county’s specific agronomic practice planting deadline.
Take a minute to remember those who gave their lives in defense of our country for this Memorial Day. We are thankful for their sacrifice that has allowed all of us the freedom to pursue our dreams in the greatest country on earth.
Be safe. Wear cotton!
To download the PDF version of this chart, click the image above.
To download the PDF version of this chart, click the image above.