cotton - Greenmount Press

Namoi Valley
Dry and hot best summarises the season so far. We have just
experienced our first heat wave in over three years and it came
as a bit of a shock for both cotton growers and agronomists.
With virtually no rain for over four months it has been a very
dry spring. It has been so dry that only a small portion of the
projected dryland cotton and sorghum crop has been planted.
Growers have been busy harvesting winter crops and
watering summer crops. Some cotton crops have had up to
three irrigations including watering up and water budgets are
beginning to look under done for the current crop. Winter crop
harvest is almost complete with generally below average yields.
Later planted durum wheat was particularly disappointing while
chickpea crops handled the dry finish reasonably well.
Irrigated cotton plantings in the Namoi are down on last year’s
record. A total of 69,000 hectares has been planted (including
Walgett). The dryland area is a mere shadow of last season due
to an absence of planting rain and low lint prices. The dryland
area is only about 5500 hectares and poor plant stands may lead
to some of this being removed over the next few weeks.
Although we saw quite a lot of seedling disease including
black root rot after planting the crop is now growing out of any
early symptoms of the disease. The majority of the crop is now
squaring and looking good. Early symptoms of verticillium are
not evident this year and continued hot conditions should see the
crop remain free of the disease.
Thrips numbers were moderate during October and November
but the cool start led to significant damage in some crops. Other
insects have been relatively quiet. Heliothis egg lays have been
present at very low numbers throughout the valley. Crickets have
been causing some damage to dryland crops as have kangaroos
and hares! Predator levels seem good and whitefly remain at low
levels, but will require careful management given the recent hot
weather.
Weeds pressure has been low with Roundup sprays timed
between irrigations. Unfortunately the first signs of hormone
damage have appeared in a few crops.
All we want for Christmas is $500 per bale!
Robert Eveleigh
December 4, 2012
Macquarie Valley
The recent spell of hot weather has put pressure on irrigating
cotton fields. Many will have received three irrigations prior
to Christmas which is unusual for the area. Irrigating over the
Christmas period may be a possibility for some. This year, many
cotton fields are back to back and side dressing with both Big N
and urea is occurring prior to irrigations.
There will be around 40,000 hectares in the valley this season.
Planting audits will confirm the final area when the figures are
available. This compares to over 44,000 hectares last season.
The few dryland fields planted this year are really struggling due
to the recent heat wave and lack of rain. There has been an
increased area planted to corn.
Many fields struggled early and have now just started to really
pick up. There was heavy thrip pressure early in the season and
the crops have now grown away from the damage. Some fields
were sprayed for thrips to prevent excessive damage. Pressure
from other insects has generally been light so far.
Burrendong Dam is now at 74 per cent with several thousand
District Reports…
megalitres a day being released downstream as the season
approaches peak irrigation demand.
Ginning has been completed in the region with the last
gin finishing early this month. It has been a very long season
ginning both local and southern cotton through the gins here.
Maintenance will be a high priority before the next ginning
season.
Establishment of pigeon pea refuges has generally been good
and weed control has been an issue in some fields. The use of
residual herbicides has helped reduce weed pressure and in crop
control will be required in those fields where weeds have got
away.
With the winter crop harvest all but completed in the area, full
attention will now turn to cotton and summer crops and weed
control in fallow fields for next year’s winter cropping programs.
The Macquarie Valley Cotton Awards Dinner will be held at
the Lazy River Estate in Dubbo on Friday, February 15, 2013.
Craig McDonald
December 3, 2012
Southern NSW
The 2012–13 planting season started off well, with the early
plantings getting away, helped by some early heat. It was not
until the first week in October that the area received the cold
snap. Frosts were recorded in all areas. Growers who had sown
dry waited until the second week in October to water up, but
anyone who watered in the first week of October was faced
with emergence issues. Crops took between 18 and 28 days to
emerge. Once again growers who had planted on beds running
east-west saw the northern rows appear first. Some growers
decided to replant the southern rows only to see all the seed
emerge 10 days later when the temperature warmed up.
This year there was a mix of both pre-irrigated and wateredup
country. The pre-irrigated crops needed a flush towards the
end of October but these crops are looking better due to the
Left: Seed fertiliser treatment. Right: Nil.
December 2012–January 2013 The Australian Cottongrower — 63