We are to dry to do much of anything and there is still no good chance of rain in the 10 day forecast. Pam Knox, UGA Climatologist, posted a blog earlier this week suggesting it is likely for us to not get a rain until the last par of April. Dryland corn is taking a hard hit right now with the lack of moisture and the high temperatures. I have had some questions about burndown applications and the use of valor, the longest Prostko has seen valor sit without a rain is and still be active is 14 days, for Culpepper it is 17-18 days. At this time I would recommend not tank mixing with any residual herbicide that needs rain for activation until we have a good chance of rain in the 10 day forecast. I have heard rumor of cotton seed potentially going in the ground next week. Here is a link to a blog post with a few reminders for planting cotton in less optimal conditions.
Topics in this Update:
- April 2026 Cotton Team Newsletter (Dr. Camp Hand, UGA Cotton Agronomist)
- Extension Precision Ag and Irrigation Blog Post (Dr. Wes Porter, UGA Precision Ag and Irrigation Specialist)
- Dry condition expected to last through late April (Pam Knox, UGA Climatologist)
- All About the Pod Podcast (Dr. Scott Monfort, UGA Peanut Agronomist)
April 2026 Cotton Team Newsletter (Dr. Camp Hand, UGA Cotton Agronomist)
The April 2026 Cotton Team Newsletter is now posted on the UGA Cotton Team Website and can be found by clicking here. This is great information and as we all prepare for planting I hope you find it useful. Stay safe out there, and as always we are here to help. Please don’t hesitate to contact your local UGA county extension agent with questions.
Extension Precision Ag and Irrigation Blog Post (Dr. Wes Porter, UGA Precision Ag and Irrigation Specialist)
This week’s blog post was written by Dr. Lazaro. I appreciate her taking the time to put it together. The post focuses on liquid fertilizer calibrations. If you have any questions related to the topic feel free to reach out!
Liquid Fertilizer Calibration | Extension Precision Ag and Irrigation
Dry conditions expected to last through late April (Pam Knox, UGA Climatologist)
The latest 7-day QPF map shows conditions that will be as dry as a bone for the next week for the vast majority of the Southeast. Just a few areas show any rain at all and only western Tennessee has a chance of getting anything really substantial. What is worse is that if you look at the longer-range maps, there is essentially no rain in the forecast until April 23 or later, with most of it coming around April 28. That is a long time for farmers to wait for moisture for their crops. I am sure irrigation is going full on where available, but diesel is expensive so farmers will want to use water judiciously and not water more than needed. You can find smart irrigation apps developed at UGA at https://smartirrigationapps.org/.
I included the GFS long-range map for the latest model run to show what rain is expected for the entire 384 hour run (through April 28). Keep in mind that almost all the rain that is shown in the area of D4 exceptional drought in southern GA and northern Florida will see no rain until about the 27th, according to the model. Of course, things will likely change before then, but at the moment the situation looks pretty dire, especially with temperatures in the next week expected to approach 90 F in some locations, near-record early in many areas. You can run this model at https://www.tropicaltidbits.com/analysis/models/?model=gfs®ion=us&pkg=apcpn and run it forward over time to see how the rain chances evolve.
Because of the extreme heat and dryness, drought is likely to continue to expand across the region over the next few weeks. The 8-14 day map below shows that areas in Alabama and Georgia that are not currently in drought are likely to see it show up there in a couple of weeks.
All About the Pod Podcast (Dr. Scott Monfort, UGA Peanut Agronomist)
https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-ettfc-1a960a9
Episode 6. Season 4 — Early Planting Recommendations Regarding Weather and Moisture