We’ve had some rain the past few days and even some in the northwest part of the county that is usually dry. Today I was in the central part of the county and fields were still wet from rain yesterday. Although irrigation requirement is higher for blooming cotton than for pre-bloom cotton, stressing cotton during squaring has more negative effects than we realize. Cotton does not rebound if stressed from no irrigation through squaring. UGA Extension Cotton Agronomist Dr. Jared Whitaker conducted research on this using the UGA Checkbook Method where the pre-bloom irrigation was eliminated and they had no difference in non-irrigated cotton. The reason for this is that cotton grows vegetatively and reproductively at the same time. During its vegetative growth, cotton is setting nodes. If it is stressed during this time, less nodes are set. Below is a graph showing the research and UGA Checkbook Method.
Thomas County Ag 