cotton experts

[tomato204]

Altho I'm an experienced gardener I never tried cotton plants until this year. In a seed trade I got some seeds for a type of cotton that has naturally colored fibers. Of the 2 colors I got I selected the brown fibered one. I removed the seeds from the bolls and all the fiber I could pull off by hand, planted them like I would okra, and waited. Only half the seeds came up and I replanted a few more. The plants are afflicted with a wilt-type condition so that they look fine one day and the next all the leaves are severely wilted down. Does anybody here know what it is and how to prevent/treat? The wilted plants all died the next day. They are about 6 inches high, just a dry stem now.

[Anon001]

Altho I'm an experienced gardener I never tried cotton plants until this year. In a seed trade I got some seeds for a type of cotton that has naturally colored fibers. Of the 2 colors I got I selected the brown fibered one. I removed the seeds from the bolls and all the fiber I could pull off by hand, planted them like I would okra, and waited. Only half the seeds came up and I replanted a few more. The plants are afflicted with a wilt-type condition so that they look fine one day and the next all the leaves are severely wilted down. Does anybody here know what it is and how to prevent/treat? The wilted plants all died the next day. They are about 6 inches high, just a dry stem now.

I was raised with cotton and cattle. The world's largest cotton gin was 8 miles from us.

Basically, the colored cottons are not as hardy as others and the staple length is not as long. When farmers started trying to use it, they quickly went back to the non-colored varieties.

Cotton is one of the plants that will usually not survive transplanting if you try to start it inside and move it. Also, cotton can't handle too much water.

Cotton likes it fairly dry and warm. The soil temp needs to be at least 65F at 6 inches below the top. Cotton farmers always determine the planting date by the soil temp. Cotton will not do like corn and sit until it comes up,. The cotton seed will rot.

My first guess would be the soil temp may have been too cool. My second guess would be too much water.

Where I was raised, near Lubbock, TX, it is dry and arid. During irrigation, the cotton would only get water about once every 3 weeks.

Another thing... with your location, you may have a long enough growing season for cotton but it may be borderline. That is why it has always been such a predominant crop in the south... long growing season.

The area I was raised in only receives an average of 17" to 20" of rainfall per year. Very little of it is in the summer and what is received in the summer is usually from thunderstorms.

I'll tell you something else, just for fun. When cotton is raised commercially, and hauled to the cotton gin, it is graded. It is graded on weight, staple length, and "whiteness". The shorter the staple, the less money paid. The less white, the less paid.

When cotton sits in a field after the bolls open up, each rain will yellow the cotton and cause it to loose it's bright white. Also, cotton must stop receiving water at least 30 days prior to when you want the bolls to open. The plant has to be dead to be harvested. Where I came from, they usually stop irrigation in mid to late August. If the freeze is going to be too late, they will "defoliate" which means they cotton is sprayed to kill it.

I hope that helps.

Paul

[pamsabear]

I don't know about your wilt problems, but cotton needs a bit of benign neglect.

Before you plant the seeds nick the hull, then soak over night. Should help with your germination problems.

Pam

[tomato204]

Thanks for the input, y'all. Water and too much of is probably the problem, it's been raining a lot here. I was just growing it for the heck of it, so staple length, etc doesn't matter. I should have grown it up on a mound I guess.