{"id":181,"date":"2020-09-15T08:12:25","date_gmt":"2020-09-15T12:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/?p=181"},"modified":"2020-09-15T08:16:33","modified_gmt":"2020-09-15T12:16:33","slug":"cotton-defoliation-when-to-spray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/2020\/09\/cotton-defoliation-when-to-spray\/","title":{"rendered":"Cotton Defoliation- When to Spray?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thomascountyag.files.wordpress.com\/2015\/09\/cottondefoliated-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><figcaption>Recently Defoliated Cotton &#8211; Credit Thomas County Ag <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Cotton bolls are opening up so it is time to start making defoliation decisions. I have seen a few fields that have already been sprayed and a lot of cotton that is ready to spray. When making defoliation decisions there are 3 methods we use together to help us know when it is ready for defoliation. The three defoliation check methods are 60-75 percent open bolls, nodes above cracked bolls are at 4 or less, and the knife test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The open boll method takes in account the percentage of open bolls across the field. When the cotton bolls are on average 60-75 percent open across the entire field it is a good time to spray. If the field is not consistent we usually recommend to leaning towards the 75 percent mark.<\/li><li>The second check method is the nodes above cracked boll test. If you check several spots in the field and most of the plants have 4 or less nodes above the upper most cracked boll then it passes the test. This a good sign that the field is ready for defoliation.<\/li><li>The last test is the sharp knife test. Take a mature boll and try to cut it with a knife. The boll should be hard to cut if the boll is mature. This can be a safety hazard, so I recommend using a ratcheting pvc pipe cutter. They work excellent for this and you don\u2019t end up cutting your hand open. Once you have cut open a few bolls the fiber inside should string and have a tan\/brown coating around the seed inside. This means the bolls are mature.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/files\/2020\/09\/Cotton-Bolls-cross-cut-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-188\" srcset=\"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/files\/2020\/09\/Cotton-Bolls-cross-cut-2.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/files\/2020\/09\/Cotton-Bolls-cross-cut-2-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/files\/2020\/09\/Cotton-Bolls-cross-cut-2-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>The boll on the left is mature notice the brown seed coat. Photo credit University of Florida Extension <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If the cotton field you are checking can pass all three of the tests then it is ready for defoliation. One of the tried and true defoliant recipes is a three way mix of Folex(tribufos), Prep(ethephon), and Drop(thidiazuron). When applying a defoliant spray it is recommended to use 20-30 gallons of water per acre to get good coverage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information about cotton defoliation or assistance with checking fields contact the Evans County Extension Office at 912-739-1292.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"596\" height=\"355\" src=\"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/files\/2020\/09\/PVC-Cutting-Pliers.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"185\" class=\"wp-image-185\" srcset=\"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/files\/2020\/09\/PVC-Cutting-Pliers.jpg 596w, https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/files\/2020\/09\/PVC-Cutting-Pliers-300x179.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 596px) 100vw, 596px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cotton bolls are opening up so it is time to start making defoliation decisions. I have seen a few fields that have already been sprayed and a lot of cotton that is ready to spray. When making defoliation decisions there are 3 methods we use together to help us know when it is ready for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":324,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cotton"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/324"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":194,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181\/revisions\/194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}