Virginia:

Favorable Weather Forecast

By Johnny Parker, Agronomist

Commonwealth Gin, Windsor, Virginia

May 5, 2008 - A good weather forecast exists for agriculture in our region.  Temperatures will be in the upper 70’s on into the 80’s with warm nights for the week.  The next chance for rainfall is about a 50/50 shot this weekend. 

Cotton is the main focus for farmers and with the current temperature expectation, the plants will emerge in about 5 or 6 days after planting.  This favors excellent early growth and fewer problems from thrips and seedling disease.  Most farmers are starting out with a fairly shallow planting depth due to the heavy amounts of rainfall we have had over the last several weeks.  One characteristic of our soils is that when the temperatures are warm and the wind is blowing like it has been for several days, the soil surface dries quickly in the top half to ¾ of an inch.  Farmers can check fields 24 hours after planting to be sure that the seed remain in moisture.  This is going to be more important as the week progresses. 

Plant the full season varieties like ST 4554 &  ST 5599 this week.