← Back to Home

High Plains Cotton Trials Showing Impact of Drought

Much like producers’ fields across the High Plains, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service cotton trials are seeing a significant difference in performance this year between dryland and irrigated trials.
“While cotton can tolerate hot and dry conditions better than many crops, this year’s drought is taking a toll on dryland fields,” said Dr. Jourdan Bell, AgriLife Extension agronomist in Amarillo.
Kimura said June was very dry across the Rolling Plains when most of the dryland producers planted cotton, and so she expects to see a difference in the varieties on drought tolerance.
“Region-specific variety trials are very important for producers’ on-farm variety selection,” Bell said.
“Because precipitation is extremely variable from year to year across the Texas High Plains, it is important to choose varieties with good early season vigor.” Bell said while this is important for irrigated and dryland systems, producers are “very interested in varieties that perform well on the expanding dryland cotton acres in this region.” This year’s Texas Northern High Plains and Rolling Plains RACE trials were planted with regional cooperators on dryland and irrigated farms.
Trial locations are also selected to represent the diversity of conditions across the region.
One limited irrigation trial is located in Moore County.
“The persistent drought across much of the northern Texas High Plains has significantly impacted dryland producers,” Bell said.
But tillage management is proving to be critical to dryland cotton stand establishment this year.” She said some dryland producers across the region achieved good stands under limited tillage or no-till fields in rotation with grain sorghum or wheat residue and have been able to take advantage of the little stored moisture.
“Our irrigated trials, as well as irrigated cotton across the region, are progressing very nicely.” Kimura said the Rolling Plains has received moisture in the last two weeks, and while it was “not as much as we wanted, it will still help many cotton producers, especially those growing dryland cotton.” The maturity stage of cotton in the Rolling Plains varies widely depending on the planting timing and whether the fields are irrigated or not, she said.

Learn More