Some cottons hold lint tighter. Some don't fall over as bad. And large-bolled varieties tend not to hold cotton as tight. Daryl Bowman, NC State crop scientist, has a different opinion. He points out that any variety can be managed so that it will open after Sept. 1.
Population is a consideration also.
If you plant thin the crop will mature later. So ability to withstand storms would not be the main factor Bowman considers when choosing a cotton variety. But Bowman recognizes that some farmers may need to factor in stormproofness, especially large-scale growers who must spread out harvest. To help farmers choose a variety, ratings for stormproofness will be included in the University's performance bulletin for 2001. The variety rating is based on several characteristics, Bowman says.