Howdy yall,

A lot of our cotton is defoliated and I’ve seen many pickers running. There is still a bit of cotton waiting for defoliation, especially if it was irrigated, but for the most part we are wrapping this growing season up.

Cotton Field in Jackson County Kate Crumley

Defoliation is usually recommended at over 60% open bolls, or 4 nodes above cracked boll. For more information, here are links to a defoliation guide from the Texas Row Crop Newsletter, the 2022 Mid South Defoliation Test, 2019 Mid South Defoliation Guide, the Wharton county defoliation test results from 2017, and the Wharton county defoliation test results from 2021. I would like to note that you keep in mind that 2021 was a very wet year, and defoliation has been very different from last year.