Start Planting Now, or Wait for Rain?
5-4-2026
I asked this question to the 10 best agronomy minds in our area that are in the advice giving business (I was number 11). I call them my experts. There was not exactly a consensus, but 6 of the 11 of us said to begin planting cotton now, just don’t chase moisture. There were 3 opinions that said just wait and 2 said to plant if it takes weeks to plant but wait if it only takes days to plant.
My predetermined answer was to plant, but I got some good feedback from my expert panel. Check in with the planting forecast for specific comments and a few strategies that account for these conditions. Night temperatures are going to be borderline by the end of the week in the more westerly and northern areas but should not remain below 50 for many hours. My experience is that we do not get chilling injury until we have extended hours well into the 40’s at the seed level. Dry conditions are safer than wet conditions. Overall, if you can do all your peanut and cotton planting in less than 2 weeks, there's nothing wrong with continuing to wait for clearer information. This temperature pattern (generally warm with a chilly night following rain) is likely to be with us for the next 10 days with 2 chances of rain.
Log in at Commonwealth gin for more information or call me and share you ideas.
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