s. “There's respectable odds this will hit your crop. But even with bad browning of cotyledons (as seen this year), plants grow out of it.”
Possible increase in seedling disease pressure. “Cold, wet conditions can hurt plants. That's why you need to have a fungicide program well in hand when you're planting.”
The biggest risk is total loss of stand. “We haven't seen that in our five-year study, but let's be honest, Mother Nature can be fickle. One year you may put seed in April 1 and the temperatures are liable to drop into the upper 20's. That may mean a total loss.”
But if you do lose the stand, Pettigrew says you'll be able to get in and replant, weather permitting. What you'll be out is labor, fuel and seed replacement.
One year Pettigrew did see an increase of boll rot. “In 1996, even with the rot, we still ended up with a 10 percent yield increase over the crop with the conventional planting date.
Even with these positive findings, Pettigrew says he's not recommending farmers plant all their cotton acreage the first week of April.
“What I'm saying is if you get a warm dry period at that time, you might want to take advantage of it and plant limited acreage.”
If farmers do decide to plant so early, Pettigrew offers these suggestions:
Only plant on well drained land.
Don't plant too deep. “We've typically been planting ours at about .75 of an inch. I wouldn't go too much deeper than that.”
Make sure you have a fungicide program. You're putting seed into a stressful environment and it needs all the help it can get. “Many farmers are tempted to eliminate in-furrow fungicides. But that isn't a good idea for early planting.”
Use high quality seed. “Pay attention to the cool germination test.”
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