By Jessica Domel
News Editor
While recent rains may benefit some, Texas cotton farmers from the Coastal Bend to the Hill Country are feeling the effects of too much rainfall.
Farmers and Texas A&M AgriLife employees report mold, sprouts and stains in open bolls.
Wharton, Jackson, Matagorda and surrounding counties received between five and 11 inches of rain over the past few days, according to Kate Harrell, Extension Agent-Integrated Pest Management for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension in Wharton.
Farmers there who were unable to get their cotton out of the fields are now seeing mold on lint and cottonseed sprouting in the bolls.
“Sprouted seeds make it much harder to gin (separate the lint from the seed) and if we can still gin it, pieces of the seed coat can get stuck in the lint and reduce the fiber quality. This is a problem across a large portion of Texas, from up around Waco on down to here. We’re hoping it’ll start to dry out here soon,” Harrell said in a Facebook post.
Further north in Hill County, farmers are dealing with the same problems after receiving over 10 inches of rain.
With heavy cloud cover, additional chances of rainfall and sunny days too far away, harvest could be delayed for several weeks, according to Xandra Morris, Extension Agent-Integrated Pest Management for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension in Hill County.
“We are hoping the rains will stop soon and the clouds disappear. Dry, sunny weather can help us recover some quality losses (sun bleaching the lint) and get us back to harvesting sooner,” Morris shared.
Near Coryell County, cotton bolls are not as open as other parts of the state. Neil Walter, cotton farmer and Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) state director, reported last week that bolls in his area were open about 20 percent.
“Once the boll is open and the lint is exposed, rain will cause the lint to turn a little bit dingy. It will be a little bit dirty looking, so to speak,” Walter said. “So far, I’ve had around six inches of rain the last few days. The rain will hurt the grade, or the quality, of the cotton lint.”
Walter was hoping to begin defoliation on his cotton this week, but will be unable to because of the wet weather.