When Is a Boll Relatively Safe from Insect Damage 5 Harvest Aid Formulation Changes New Generic Products 6 Calendar 6 Cotton Situation. Prospects are highly varied across the state. Much of the irrigated crop is at least two weeks early. Some irrigated fields are spectacular, others are mediocre, and there are hundreds of dryland fields that are disastrous. Defoliation has begun.
Heat continues to shorten the crop here and in other areas of the South.
Severe leaf reddening and even leaf drop have developed rapidly over wide areas, and in many fields. Whiteflies are building in southern extremes, posing a threat to late cotton. Bronze wilt, the plant malady that affected thousands of acres in 1998, has been quite limited in the 2000 crop. Across the state, wilted cotton plants that are reddish in color are common and are of concern to many growers. Though growers have had to deal with bronze wilt for several years, there is still considerable controversy over not only as to the cause of the problem but also the diagnosis of the condition in the field.