Missouri Cotton News
December 2001

This newsletter is published for the Missouri Cotton Industry.
Editor: Bobby Phipps
State Extension Cotton Specialist

Variety Trials Results for 2001

All of our trials are irrigated. Yields were good as we expected. The trial at Clarkton was replanted on May 23. This needs to be considered when evaluating the data. With the great growing season and high number of DD60’s received, over 2600 as compared to the average of 2200, later maturing varieties were favored. Bronze wilt was almost non existent this season. Conventional herbicides were used in all trials except the Roundup trial where high rates of Roundup were used. We had a good top crop since the weevil was absent.

The fiber length is long as compared to usual. I have no reason to suspicion an error since the fiber was tested at the International Textile Research Center at Texas Tech in Lubbock. The school was founded for textile engineering and has worked on fiber quality for seventy-five years. In fact the high volume classing instruments that the USDA uses were evaluated at Texas Tech before the USDA would accept them as the standard for cotton classing. Fiber length across the Delta has been short this year but long in our trials. One contributing factor would be that all of the test plots were properly irrigated. At flowering and for three weeks afterward the fibers are elongating and the length is determined. It takes water to elongate the fibers, just as it does any other cell in the plant. This is seen when water stress reduces the height of the plant. In this case lack of water causes the cells in the stalk to not elongate properly and plant height is reduced. When the fiber is full length, the micronaire is usually in desirable. When the fibers are shortened such as in a dryland field without proper rainfall one can expect that micronaire will be higher than normal. This year as of last week twenty-five percent of the Missouri crop had a high micronaire of 5.0 or greater. The late planting date of the Clarkton trial is reflected in the low micronaire.

Thanks to Our Cooperators

I would like to give a special thanks to our research cooperators. Their trials are grown under typical growing conditions. The trials on their farms are treated just like the rest of their fields. We plant and machine harvest our trials, but they perform all the rest of the farming operations. Their farming techniques may differ from mine and will be very typical for the area. As can be seen from the lint yields they are some of the better producers. These growers are Johnny Hux of Sikeston, Chuck Province of Clarkton and Charles Parker of Senath. We gin the trials on a research size gin equipped with an inclined cleaner, feeder extractor and one stage of lint cleaning. The lint samples are classed on a high volume-classing instrument. It takes a special effort to allow us to be in their way during the busy seasons. Good cooperators like Johnny, Chuck and Charles are difficult to find. When you see them, give them special thanks. The data gleaned from these trials aid all of us in Missouri when we are choosing cotton varieties.