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Virginia:
First and Second True Leaf
By Johnny Parker, Agronomist
Commonwealth Gin, Windsor, Virginia
May 21, 2008 -
Cotton growth has been slow and as a result it has not shown the
true leaf development that you would predict. Many farmers are
ready to initiate the thrips and roundup applications for the first
true leaf and a lot of the cotton still does not have a good
unfolded true leaf.
However, that is getting ready to change with a lot of 80 degree
weather just around the corner. The Roundup activity will be better
on killing some of the tougher weeds in the warmer temperatures as
well. So far the thrips damage has been fairly minimal although
there are thrips present in the fields.
Today I got my first indication that there is
some damage occurring in that the first true leaf in a cotton field
was fully expanded and you could see indications of more damage on
the second leaf that was already emerging. This is an
 indication
that the application of Orthene or a pyrethroid is beneficial at the
first true leaf stage in order to minimize the damage. The only
other issue that seem to be present is low levels of cutworms and
some dampening off. Both of these situations have not reduced any
stands significantly but bear watching. Pay particular attention to
cutworms in fields that have heavy amounts of cover remaining.
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