Watching and taking care of cotton

By MINDY POEHL | Central Texas Edition

Charles Stichler, Extension agronomist, speaks about the growth of the cotton plant at the Blackland Income Growth conference in Waco. � Photo by Mindy Poehl�

Jan. 26, 2006 - Cotton was a primary topic at this year's Blackland Income Growth (BIG) Conference, which was held at the Waco Convention Center Jan. 17-18. Exhibitors from across Texas gathered to display different agricultural products at the Mid-Tex Show, which correlated with the BIG Conference.

Dr. Charles Stichler, Extension agronomist, de-monstrated how to think like a cotton plant.

"What causes stress in a cotton plant?" he asked. 

His answer was: lack of light; lack of water; too much water; when the night temperature is too hot; close plant spacing; cultivating too close, which causes root damage; insects and disease; and water fluctuations and timings.

"At night the cotton plant slows down and doesn't use up carbohydrates like it does during the day," Stichler explained. "The cotton plant has an equal balance."

The sequence of growth for cotton is 155 days. It takes 55 days from the first flower to the first open boll. It takes 32 days for the first square. And, it takes 45 days for the first open boll to be 50 percent open.

For nutrient management in cotton, it takes 0 to 1 pound of nitrogen to produce 500 pounds of lint. "Lint doesn't take nitrogen," Stichler said.

It takes 35 to 45 pounds of nitrogen to produce 900 pounds of seed.

"When you think about fertilizing, think about when that cotton produces seed," said Stichler. "You have to put the feed where the cow is," which means put the fertilizer where it is needed. "Band the nutrients and put them in the right spot. In order for the root to pick up nutrients, it must be dissolved in water."

When the cotton plant is big, it does not evaporate much water and it picks up many nutrients.

"Roots grow and develop on the left over energy from the top," Stichler said. "Once the cotton plant blooms, the root system doesn't grow any more. It puts most of the nutrients into the seeds."

A normal cotton plant has around 17 nodes. The first fruiting position is always in the terminal. The first position contributes 60 to 99 percent of the total crop harvested.

"If you missed the crop on fruiting branches 3 through 12, you've missed it," Stichler said.

The leaves of cotton are solar collectors, Stichler said. The optimum temperature for growing cotton is 82 degrees. When the temperature reaches above 95 degrees, the photosynthesis stops and the cotton plant starts shutting down.

Stichler concluded by stating, "Timing and seeding rate at planting is critical. And you must produce an adequate plant canopy prior to bloom. The most important thing a farmer can put on the crop is his shadow."

That means successfully growing cotton means having the grower out in the field, watching and taking care of the cotton crop.