When will Cotton Be Safe.
8-10-2026
Moving into the middle of August of 2026, we have a cotton crop that has advanced quite a bit considering the time of year. Most of the cotton planted during the first half of May is blooming high and has either passed through the fifth week of bloom or soon will. This is the point where cotton damage thresholds go up and about 10 fruiting branches will have bolls on them. This is where cotton makes over 90% of its yield. During the 6th week of blooms, the damage threshold increases to 20% damage and by the 7th week of bloom it will be 30%. Typically if you have an insecticide application during the fifth week of bloom which would have been last week or even the end of the fourth week, then it is difficult for insects to rebound to reach these damage threshold. This stage also correlates with cotton that is blooming out the top of the plant with only 3 or 4 NAWB.
Keep in mind that the late cotton that was planted at the end of May is a couple of weeks behind in maturity compared to the oldest fields. It is just moving into the third week of bloom and is in that period of highest sensitivity to insect damage. The oldest cotton will likely be safe from insect damage if it is insect free with low damage this week, but the youngest cotton planted close to June 1 will not be safe until the end of August. Many cotton fields are in the middle and will become safe soon. Once I see the top squares bloom, or blooms on about the 12th fruiting branch and very few insects or damage in the field, I am satisfied the field is safe. I think this week and early next week will be a big evaluation period for this situation on all but the late planted cotton.
This period also represents a time when cotton starts shrinking if it has a good boll load and zero response from pis is expected. At least cotton from the early and middle planting period and this “no response from pix” condition is confirmed by blooms in the top of the plant. IF cotton is still in the 3rd week of bloom and getting an insect spray, then that finishing application of pix is still valuable when blooms are not in the top of the plant.
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