Cotton - Crop Management

Cotton Crop Management

Nutrient Budget Calculator

The Nutrient Budget Tool is a resource for growers who are interested in adequately providing the correct amount of nutrients for their crops for the optimal yields. This tool allows growers to choose crop type and yield goals into a spreadsheet that will then output the needed fertilizer levels of N, P, K needed to meet projected yield goals. Soil test, irrigation water test, and manure nutrient test analysis results can also be input to calculate the overall results of a crop’s nutrient/fertilizer needs. This tool is designed to help promote soil testing and analysis and to help growers be more cost and nutrient efficient. We plan to expand the Nutrient Budget Tool in the future to incorporate soil salinity levels (EC) and pH to better service the nutrient budget users and provide greater information.

Download:

Nutrient Budget Tool

1. Choose the crop from the list of tabs at the bottom of the screen.

2. Fill in the “Plan Area” field in acres and “Yield Area” field in lbs/acre or tons/acre. Doing this will provide the needed N, P, and K requirements of the specified plan area.

3. Additional numbers from irrigation water analysis, soil analysis and fertilizer analysis from a plan area can be input to factor in to the overall needed requirements for N, P, and K in lbs/plan area.

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Cotton Crop Management Publications

Jun 2015

Estimating the Vegetative/Reproductive Balance in Cotton Growth

Publication (PDF, 300KB)

Authors: J. C. Silvertooth

A healthy, well-developed cotton plant that is capable of high yield requires a strong root system, mainstem structure, sufficient leaves, and numerous fruiting branches to support a good boll load. Too small a vegetative structure on the plant results in reduced yield potential, and too much vegetative development, which is usually done at the expense of fruit set and yield.
Jun 2015

Early Season Crop Management

Publication (PDF, 319KB)

Authors: J. C. Silvertooth

The approaches and techniques used to produce a cotton crop in Arizona can vary to some degree from county to county, or from farm to farm. However, one of the objectives that has become increasingly common across Arizona is that of achieving earliness with a crop.
Jun 2015

Determining the Mainstem Node Number for Cotton

Publication (PDF, 329KB)

Authors: J. C. Silvertooth and Paul W. Brown

To systematically monitor a young crop effectively, it is important to understand the fundamentals about counting and identifying nodes on the plant.
Jun 2015

Physiology of Cotton Defoliation

Publication (PDF, 529KB)

Authors: Felix Ayala and J. C. Silvertooth

This bulletin deals with the physiology of cotton defoliation and attempts to describe what conditions must exist inside the plant in order for defoliation to occur. It is important to understand the basic physiological processes involved in order for best crop management practices to accomplish a successful defoliation.
Jun 2015

Early Cotton Development

Publication (PDF, 281KB)

Authors: J. C. Silvertooth

After stand establishment, the next critical stage in the development of a cotton crop is the initiation of the first squares, or floral buds, which could develop into the plants’ first boll. This is an important step for a cotton crop and one which is usually followed closely by the attentive farmer.
Jun 2015

Water Management for Defoliation

Publication (PDF, 316KB)

Authors: Silvertooth, Jeffrey C.

There are several factors which are important to consider in managing defoliation. Factors such as plant-water relations, Nitrogen (N) fertility status, the extent of honeydew deposits on the leaves from insects such as the sweet potato whitefly or aphids, and weather conditions following the defoliant application are all important in terms of the final defoliation results.
Jun 2013

Operation of Yield Monitors in Central Arizona: Grains and Cotton

Publication (PDF, 1.19MB)

Authors: Pedro Andrade-Sanchez and John T. Heun

Yield maps can be an important management tool to quantify the impact of management practices including water, fertility, pest control, variety selection, etc. Yield monitoring technology provides farm managers with information to improve input utilization, therefore many guidelines for their use are available online, including university cooperative extension bulletins for grain crops, and cotton.
Jan 2013

Cotton IPM: A Quiet Revolution Reduces Costs, Losses and Risks for Arizona’s Cotton Growers

Publication (PDF, 88KB)

New technologies have enabled cotton growers to reduce their spray applications significantly while achieving among highest cotton yields worldwide. Arizona now produces the highest yielding cotton in the world, well over 1,500 pounds of fiber per acre, far exceeding the U.S. national average of about 750 pounds per acre. These technologies also help growers implement more ecologically based, sustainable IPM programs and become less dependent on broadly toxic insecticides.

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Cotton Crop Management Presentations

Feb 2013

Pre-season and Early Season Cotton Management

Presentation (PDF, 1.56MB)

Authors: Guangyao (Sam) Wang

Location Presented: Avondale, AZ

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ARIZONA PEST MANAGEMENT CENTER