Our first cotton crop has been a success, but it wasn’t without challenges. November saw the new crop establish well, until sandblasting took around 20% of the crop. Good rains in January saw patches of young cotton suffer from water-logging. A very dry February and March pushed the crop to its limits, drawing on moisture deep in the profile. Much of the crop showed Group B chemical damage during early months from previous chickpea crops, and also some phenoxy damage. The cotton grew through these setbacks to average 2.5 bales/ha. About three quarters of the crop was picked/stripped before the June rains.
Its been a great learning experience, and well worth the effort. Putting this one behind us, we look forward to the next cotton season starting in just a few months. Having country set aside for dryland cotton this year, with good stubble cover and no herb issues, cotton is here to stay in our rotation.
Some pictures below were taken at local gin – Namoi Cotton’s Moomin Gin.
Note. The area lost to sand blasting was planted back to chickpeas, and looking very good at present.
