WESLACO  –  The Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco will host a cotton defoliation field day from 10 – 11:30 a.m. July 17 at the center’s Hiler Farms.

The use of a recently approved fungicide on cotton root rot is among topics to be discussed at a July 17 cotton field day near Weslaco. (AgriLife Communications photo by Rod Santa Ana)

Hiler Farms is located north of Mercedes on Mile 2 West, three miles north of Expressway 83, about a quarter mile north of Mile 10 North.

The field day will review cotton defoliation treatments, cotton variety trials and the results of cotton root rot control trials, according to Dan Fromme, a Texas AgriLife Extension Service agronomist.

“We’ll be demonstrating the results of 24 treatments of cotton defoliants to see which combinations work best under current environmental conditions,” he said.

Cotton defoliation is one of the most expensive and difficult decisions cotton producers face during the production cycle, according to Dr. Juan Landivar, center director.

“The effectiveness of cotton defoliation depends on the interaction of the harvest- aid selected and the status of the crop, including its boll load, water status and nutrient program, and a wide range of weather parameters, such as temperature and soil moisture,” he said.

The field demonstration provides an excellent opportunity for growers to evaluate the performance of a wide variety of harvest-aid chemicals under this season’s growing conditions, Landivar said.

The cotton variety trial demonstration will include a discussion of each variety’s growth characteristics and fiber quality, and how the varieties compare to one another at harvest, Fromme said.

“In the root rot control study we’ll discuss what we’ve seen so far in our trials of Top Guard, a new fungicide that was approved for use this year on cotton,” he said.

There is no charge for attending the field day. For more information, contact the center at 956-968-5585, or Fromme at 830-275-3990.