Oklahoma’s dry summer put a damper on this year’s cotton crops.
According to reports, if weather would have faired it would have been a bumper crop.
“This year, what started out to be an exceptional cotton year, was slowed by the dry spell in July and August. When it did start raining, the moisture was about three weeks too late.” said David Lingle, manager of the Tillman Producers Cooperative cotton gin.
Last year Lingle told an Oklahoma newspaper, “By Oct. 5, 2008, we had ginned 600 bales. We may gin anywhere from 25,000 to 28,000 bales this year,” he said. “Our members farm around 30,000 acres of cotton.”
Cotton crops were doing well until July when the weather dried out adding extra stress to the plants. When rain finally fell in early September, cool weather caused the plants to fail in maturing.
“When the temperature falls below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, cotton begins to shut down its growth,” Lingle said. “If we had received more moisture in the summer, we would be looking at a bumper crop now.”
Although crops are taking longer to mature, the numbers are one percent higher for Oct. 4 compared to last year.
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