Farm & Home
Ag Line: Cotton gives ground to grains
By Wade Parker County Extension Coordinator

Will high grain prices take away acres from cotton or peanuts? As it currently appears, cotton and peanut acres will be down considerably. Acreage surveys and seed orders suggest that corn acreage will increase across the U.S. and Georgia in 2007, and recent price rallies have also escalated interest in soybeans. Cotton acreage could fall to 1.1 million acres, a significant drop from 1.4 million certified in 2006. In a short period of time, we will be able to tell how many acres of peanut and cotton will be lost to corn.

As farmers begin planting corn, expansion of corn acreage compels thoughts about potential impact in cotton. 1) Both cotton and corn are hosts of Southern root knot nematode; therefore, growers should realize that rotation to corn could exacerbate (increase) problems with root knot in cotton. Conversely, corn is an excellent management option for reniform nematodes, and rotation to corn will provide positive results for future cotton. 2) Where cotton and corn are planted in close proximity, both should be Roundup Ready (RR or RF) if possible. More than 95 percent of the cotton planted will likely be RR, while seed availability indicates that RR corn may be limited to 50 to 65 percent of the expected acreage. Non RR corn is very sensitive to glyphosate, so it makes sense that adjacent fields be RR if at all possible. 3) Corn, as well as soybeans and peanuts, serve as a reservoir for stink bugs. Bug numbers and damage can be significantly greater in cotton rows that border corn, so there is value in taking a much more aggressive approach (scouting and spraying) in a sprayer swath width or two of cotton adjacent to corn. 4) Weed control in corn should include atrazine, a broad spectrum herbicide that has both residual and postemergence activity. It represents an alternative way (in terms of herbicide mode of action) of dealing with weeds, especially such problem species as Palmer Amaranth (pigweed). Growers should also be careful to NOT lose the battle following corn harvest. Tillage and/ or herbicides should be used post harvest in corn to prevent weed buildup.

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