The Perils of April Planted Cotton On the Texas High Plains

Improved cold temperature emergence may allow cotton producers on the Texas High Plains to begin planting in April versus the more conventional planting in the month of May. However the early spring planting date will require a different sequence of management protocols to deliver higher lint yields. Our objective for this study was to determine if planting date significantly impacted emergence and lint yield. Fourteen conventional cultivars and nine experimental lines were evaluated at Lubbock, TX when planted on April 11, 2012. The twenty three lines were planted in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Plant emergence was measured at nine, fourteen, and twenty one days after planting. A one meter sample was hand harvested and ginned on a 20-saw table top gin. Lint yield and turnout were analyzed for their relationship to emergence. In the future is hoped that early emergence cultivars are grown commercially on the Texas High Plains.