Cotton Specialists Corner

Plant Pathologists Kathy Lawrence of Auburn University, Heather Kelly of the University of Tennessee and Terry Wheeler of Texas A&M join host Steve Brown, Extension Cotton Agronomist at Auburn, to discuss nematode management in major regions across the U.S. Topics include nematode species prevalent in respective ares of the Belt, presence by soil type, levels of annual yield loss as well as control measures such as seed treatments, in-furrow and foliar products, considerations for sampling, utility of nematode resistant varieties and effective rotational crops by region.

Texas A&M, Texas AgriLife  Extension Agronomists Ben McKnight, Josh McGinty, Reagan Noland, Jourdan Bell and Ken Lege join host Steve Brown of Auburn University to talk about the 2023 Texas crop and  prospects for 2024. The discussion provides insight on the diversity of the state's production areas and their related challenges, past and present.

Camp Hand (Agronomist) and Phillip Roberts (Entomologist) of the University of Georgia and Scott Graham (Entomologist) of Auburn University join host Steve Brown, Extension Cotton Agronomist, to discuss the complicated issue of deer damage in cotton. Deer provide a significant threat to the crop in much of the eastern Cotton Belt. These scientists  talk about various measures that deliver some help, but acknowledge there is no simple, easy, fool-proof solution. It's a fun but sobering discussion.

Fred Bourland, University of Arkansas, longtime Cotton Breeder, and Steve Hague, former Cotton Breeder at Texas A&M and Bayer, join host Steve Brown, Auburn University, to give a broad perspective on the process and history of breeding. Both have years of experience in the public sector in university breeding programs and Hague also shares from his years with Bayer during the early transition to transgenic technologies.

Entomologists Ben Thrash, University of Arkansas, Scott Graham, Auburn University, and Phillip Roberts, University of Georgia, along with Agronomists Tyson Raper, University of Tennessee, and Camp Hand, University of Georgia, join host Steve Brown, Auburn University, to discuss overall results with the ThryvOn technology in the 2023 season. Subject matter includes a review of thrips and tarnished plant bug management as well as agronomic performance of available germplasm.

Cotton Entomologists Ron Smith and Scott Graham join host Steve Brown to discuss some of the  most critical events and challenges of managing cotton insects over the past 50 years or so.  Ron is Professor Emeritus and Scott is an Assistant Professor; both serve the Alabama Cooperative Extension System at Auburn University.

Ag Economists O.A. Cleveland, John Robinson and Don Shurley share their thoughts about the HOW-to's of marketing cotton. Cleveland and Shurley are Professors Emeritus of their respective institutions, Mississippi State University and the University of Georgia, and Robinson is Professor and Extension Specialist for cotton marketing in the Ag Economics Department at Texas A&M. They join host Steve Brown, Extension Cotton Agronomist, Auburn University in a discussion of different methods and means available to growers for selling cotton.  

Extension Cotton Specialists and Agronomists from across the U.S. Cotton Belt talk about their 2023 crop and provide tips and recommendations for harvest aid applications and other preparations for cotton harvest. Speakers include Keith Edmisten, NC State, Brian Pieralisi, Mississippi State, Tyson Raper, University of Tennessee,  Jourdan Bell, Texas A&M, and host Steve Brown, Auburn University.

Eminent Weed Scientists Stanley Culpepper, University of Georgia, and Larry Steckel, University of Tennessee, join host Steve Brown, Auburn University, in discussing herbicide resistance in cotton. These scientists have had a front row seat in dealing with herbicide resistance in the field, in professional Weed Science circles and before regulatory bodies.

Entomologists Scott Graham, Auburn University, and Ben Thrash, University of Arkansas, along with Agronomists Tyson Raper, University of Tennessee, and host Steve Brown discuss the challenges and opportunities of the ThryvOn technology for plant bug management.  Plant bug pressure has been significant across most of the South and in some areas, numbers are higher than we have ever seen. 2023 is the first year for most growers to see ThryvOn in large acreages.