“Plant mapping is essentially a guide for
evaluating the crop’s health anytime during the production
season,” said Shane Osborne of the division’s Southwest Research
and Extension Center in Altus.
By taking regular measurements of the crop and comparing them to
growth guidelines, a producer can know the exact status of the
crop, whether it is growing well or under stress from insects,
disease or drought.
“Most importantly, by knowing that status, a
producer can make management decisions in a proactive rather
than reactive fashion,” Osborne said. “It can make all the
difference between success and disappointment at harvest time.”
Plant mapping for cotton takes advantage of
the crop’s approximate growth timeline. By knowing how the plant
grows and when it should be at any given stage of maturity,
producers can easily determine if the plant is under stress,
when to apply additional fertilizer or plant growth regulators,
when to time herbicide and insecticide applications, how to
identify fruiting problems and how to manage irrigation.
The key is the producer’s commitment to
checking the crop on a regular basis. While the process can seem
complicated at first, Osborne said that it can be learned
easily.
“Once you learn the basics, the process of
producing an excellent crop becomes a bit easier,” he said. “It
makes managing for optimum production easier because you
eliminate virtually all of the guess work.”
Producers
interested in plant mapping can access an illustrated
presentation on the management at
http://www.ntokcotton.org
on the Internet. Additional information can be found on the
center’s Web site at
http://www.osu.altus.ok.us on the Internet.
“Of course, producers can also stop by the
center or simply give us a call,” Osborne said.
