Petiole Testing and Foliar Feeding Cotton

Petiole testing is a great tool that can be used to check on the nutritional status of a cotton crop and to help guide foliar feeding decisions.  However, the number of cotton growers using petiole testing in Georgia has declined greatly in recent years.  This is mainly due to the time commitment and cost.  With the high cost of fertilizer and the need to fine tune fertilizer programs in order to achieve maximum economic yields, petiole testing and foliar feeding need to be revisited.  A review of the current petiole testing programs and foliar feeding trials, along with potential changes to petiole testing and foliar feeding will be discussed.