09/04/2026
Cotton Tour Sept. 9th; thoughts on defoliation
news.utcrops.com/2026/09/cotton-tour-sept-9th-thoughts-on-defoliation
Tyson R***r, Cotton & Small Grains Specialist
The ‘turn’ this year wasn’t much of a turn at all- it was more like a crash. In this blog, I give a few last minute thoughts on the crop, provide the preferred concoction that I would use on our earliest planted acres that will receive harvest aids, and highlight content we will cover in depth at the upcoming Cotton Tour Sept. 9 (next Wednesday).
As I mentioned in my last crop condition blog, retention has been abnormally high. Although I do not believe this drought hurt our earliest planted dryland acres, I believe it has taken several hundred pounds off our mid and especially our late May dryland acres. We all knew this was a relatively shallow-rooted crop that was not prepared for a water deficit- and at this point, rainfall on our last planted dryland acres may just be too late to make a yield difference.
Expect the drought to impact the efficacy of our defoliants. Drought impacts product selection and rate much like cold temperatures. The shedding of a leaf is a physiological process. If the plant is not healthy, development of the abscission zone will likely not occur as quickly and more aggressive products and rates will likely be needed to generate acceptable levels of defoliation.
Fortunately, boll opening is often easier in drought stressed cotton, as the plant is already stressed. Many have noted open boll numbers rapidly increasing. Expect boll maturity to progress very rapidly in the coming weeks- particularly in dryland acres in areas which didn’t catch that last rain.
How to time defoliation?
Time defoliation this year on the maturity of the uppermost harvestable boll! Ignore percent open and ignore node above cracked boll counts; percent open will be higher than in a ‘normal’ year and node above cracked boll will be lower than in a ‘normal’ year. Instead, slice the uppermost harvestable boll. If that boll is difficult to cut, has seed coat color, and has no jelly in seed, you are safe to move forward.
What concoctions should I spray?
I’m running a relatively aggressive application on dryland acres, with both hormonal and herbicidal products. My current mix is 2 oz Thidiazuron, 4 oz Folex, 12 oz Finish and 12 oz Ethephon. Boll opener may be reduced on the earliest planted acres if almost all positions are open. Expect all concoctions to work slowly. Yes, it is hot! But the plant is not healthy, so this physiological process will take more time than normal.
We will be walking a defoliation strip trial next week at the Cotton Tour- I’ve got the above mentioned concoction included along with five other combinations.
The ‘turn’ this year wasn’t much of a turn at all- it was more like a crash. In this blog, I give a few last minute thoughts on the crop, provide the preferred concoction that I would use on our earliest planted acres that will receive harvest aids, and highlight…
