Recent Rains Just What Farmers Wanted

April 14, 2004---Farmers across Alabama breathed a sigh of relief as recent rains swept across the state from the Gulf Coast to the Tennessee Valley.  An agronomist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System said the rainfall was just what most farmers wanted.

“Many farmers had finished or were close to completing their preplanting work,” said Dale Monks, a cotton agronomist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

“After such a dry March, we really needed some good rains to boost soil moisture levels as we head into April and cotton planting time.”

Before the recent rains, almost 70 percent of the state’s soil moisture levels were considered short or very short according to the Alabama Agricultural Statistics Service.

The majority of the state’s cotton acres will be planted this month.  Monks said  farmers in the Tennessee Valley like to complete their cotton planting by the end of April, while farmers in the central and southern parts of the state will be finished by mid- to late May.

Monks said cotton farmers would like to see additional rains and warm weather during the next month.

"Cotton is native to the tropics and needs warm soil to germinate,” said Monks. “It will grow more rapidly if there is warm weather after germination as well.

"Cotton planted in cool, wet soil is more vulnerable to seedling disease. Producers need good healthy stands of cotton to make a profit, and if they plant too early, seedling disease could strike and jeopardize their stands."

Seedling disease actually refers to a group of soil borne fungal diseases and problems that impede seed germination and seedling development.    

“Year in and year out, cotton seedling disease is a major problem  -- not just here in Alabama but across the United States,” Monks said.

Seedling disease does the most damage when cotton seedlings are growing slowly.  When cotton is growing vigorously under good conditions, it can usually produce new roots faster than the disease can destroy old ones, and it can literally outgrow seedling disease damage.

As of early April, about 40 percent of the corn crop had been planted.  Peanut planting will begin in May.

AASS expects Alabama farmers to plant 550,000 acres of cotton.  That is 5 percent higher than last year but 5 percent lower than the five-year average.  Nationally, it is predicted that more than 14.4 million acres will be planted in cotton, up more than 1 million acres from 2003.  Intentions for corn at 220,000 acres are unchanged from 2003 but up 5 percent from the five-year average totaling 210,000 acres. Soybean growers plan to increase planted acres to 180,000 acres, 6 percent more than last year. Peanut acres are forecast at 195,000, 3 percent more than last year.

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