August Cotton Update

Howdy all!

A lot of our cotton is defoliated and I've seen many pickers running. There is still a bit of cotton waiting for defoliation, especially if it was irrigated. The wet spell that we got earlier this week may also delay harvest of what was left in the fields, but for the most part, the season is wrapping up. 

Cotton field in Wharton County

Sarah Marsh

Cotton defoliation is recommended at greater than 60% open bolls, or 4 nodes above cracked boll. For more information, here is some links to past research on defoliation:

2019 Mid-South Cotton Defoliation Guide

East and South Texas Cotton Harvest Aids: The Art and Science

Development and Growth Monitoring of the Cotton Plant

2022 Cotton Harvest Aid Meeting

Please check out the weekly IPM Audio Updates; the website to sign up to receive those is listed below. If you have any questions feel free to contact me either by email or calling the office. Have a good weekend everyone, and try to stay cool!

Sincerely,

Sarah Marsh

IPM Extension Specialist

Weekly IPM audio updates

New IPM Specialist - Sarah Marsh

Howdy!

My name is Sarah Marsh, and I am the new Integrated Pest Management (IPM) specialist for the Upper Coast region. If I have not yet had the opportunity to meet with you, I'd like to give a little background. I grew up on a diversified row-crop and orchard farm in northern California. I obtained my B.S. in Plant and Environmental Soil Science from Texas A&M University in 2020, where I also worked for Dr. Julie Howe in soil fertility projects. Over the course of my undergraduate career, I also worked in a California extension office, studying rice pest control. I earned a Masters degree in Weed Science at UC Davis, where my thesis projects focused on crop protection and weed control in rice fields, as well as inherent herbicide resistance of rice lines. I have been working in the Wharton County Extension office since the beginning of August, and please feel free to come by or give me a call if you have any questions or would just like to meet with me. I am excited to be working in this region and look forward to getting to know all of you.

Sarah Marsh - IPM Extension Specialist