Mixed progress on cotton

Warm weather was experienced in most areas of the state during the week ending July 15, according to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, Southern Plains Regional Field Office, Texas. Only trace amounts of precipitation were recorded in South Texas and the Lower Valley, while other areas of the state received from trace amounts to upwards of 2 inches. There were 6.2 days suitable for fieldwork.

The 2018 Texas winter wheat harvest was almost complete. Fields in the Cross Timbers were being prepared for seeding of the 2019 winter wheat crop.

The Plains experienced mixed progress on cotton. Dryland cotton was in need of moisture, while irrigated cotton was in good to fair condition. Bollworms were found in the Trans-Pecos and the Upper Coast. Cotton defoliation began in the Coastal Bend. Corn and sorghum harvest started in the Blacklands and the Upper Coast, and continued in the Coastal Bend, South Texas and the Lower Valley. Rice in the Upper Coast had reached the heading stage. Peanuts were pegging in South Texas.