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COLLEGE STATION - Hurricane Dolly may bring welcome rain to Texas' Rio Grande Valley, but it's also likely to wipe out what remains of the cotton and sorghum crop, said a Texas AgriLife Extension Service expert.
At about noon on July 23, Dolly had not yet made landfall, but rain had begun to fall and forecasts were for it to dump as much as 15 inches of rain in some areas, said Rod Santa Ana, an AgriLife Communications and Marketing specialist based in Weslaco. The Valley's cotton and sorghum were heavily damaged by storms earlier in the month. Hurricane Dolly may sound the death knoll, Santa Ana said.
"We were pounded by rain prior to and immediately after the Fourth of July," he said. "And that did a real number on the sorghum crop."
More than 400,000 acres of sorghum were grown this year in the Valley, Santa Ana said. Thirty percent of that acreage had not been harvested by the early July storm and was probably rendered worthless.
As for cotton, about 92,000 acres are unharvested and mature to the point it has either been defoliated or has opened bolls, he said.
"We could be suffering major losses in the cotton crop from Hurricane Dolly," Santa Ana said. Rain is bad for open bolls, he said. It degrades the quality of the lint. It stains the cotton, but worse, hurricane winds and pounding rain could knock the cotton bolls to the ground. "At which point it would not be salvageable," Santa Ana said.
No firm figures will be available on the damage until after the hurricane and producers are able to get back in their fields, Santa Ana noted.
"But at this point, it doesn't look good," he said.
The following summaries were compiled by AgriLife Extension district reporters this week:
Central: Some counties received rain. However, ranges remained dry, and native and improved grasses showed little to no growth. Livestock producers were providing supplemental feed. The maize harvest began. The corn harvest continued, with low yields due to the drought. The cotton crop needed rain. Pecan yields were expected to be low due to pecan nut case bearers and drought.
Coastal Bend: Hot, dry weather returned. The corn and sorghum harvest was under way. Some cotton was defoliated, and early cotton was harvested. Livestock were stressed by heat and lack of good forage. Producers continued to feed hay.
East: Dry weather continued for the most part with only isolated showers reported in a few counties. Pastures began to show signs of moisture stress due to high temperatures and little to no rain. Grasshoppers were starting to cause problems in some pastures. Hay harvests slowed due to dry conditions and unsteady grass growth. Increased fly populations were reported on cow herds. Fruit, vegetable, blueberry and blackberry harvests continued. Conditions are so dry in most areas that some counties were considering burn bans. Anderson County was placed on a burn ban.
Far West: Moderate temperatures, higher humidity and widely scattered rains were reported with accumulations of 0.2 to 2.0 inches. Irrigated cotton and dryland grain sorghum were doing well, as were alfalfa, pecan and wine grapes. The grape harvest was nearly complete after two consecutive years of near-total loss from late, unexpected freezes and hail. The fall-planted onion harvest was completed. Chili plants were blooming.
North: With no rain for several days and temperatures near100 degrees, soil moisture ranged from adequate to very short. All of the dryland crops needed moisture. Corn was in good to excellent condition; it was doughing and denting. Some fields were nearly 50 percent mature. Soybeans were in fair to good condition and are blooming and setting pods. Sorghum was in good condition, with a wide range of maturity. Cotton was squaring, setting bolls and in good condition. Peaches continued to do well. Range and pasture condition was fair to good. Producers continued to harvest forage. Some corn and sorghum were harvested for silage. Hay baling continued with the hot days providing good curing weather. Ponds were in good condition, and so were livestock.
Panhandle: Temperatures were slightly below average. Soil moisture was adequate to very short with most areas reporting adequate. Corn varied from very poor to good with most areas reporting fair to good. Most areas reported corn tasseling, with a few fields entering the dough stage. Cotton varied from very poor to excellent with most areas reporting fair; the crop was squaring with a few reports of setting bolls. Peanuts were rated fair to good with most fields pegging. Sorghum varied in from very poor to excellent with most areas reporting fair to good. Soybeans were rated fair to good. Wheat varied from very poor to good with most areas reporting fair. The wheat harvest was nearly complete. Range conditions were mostly fair, with weed problems in some areas. Cattle were in good condition, though horn flies continued to pester some herds.
Rolling Plains: There were scattered rain showers and somewhat cooler temperatures across the region. Most counties got light accumulations, but many still need a long, slow rain. Cotton farmers sprayed for weeds and began plowing. Pastures needed more rain and showed signs of heavy stress due to the drought. Sorghum looked excellent with some planting ongoing in Motley County. In Jack County, sorghum wasn't performing, and some producers baled what little they could. Livestock were coping, but their body condition began to slip where pastures were even slightly overstocked. Haygrazer needs more moisture soon or there may be a hay shortage this winter.
South: Most county agents have reported 60 percent to100 percent adequate soil moisture conditions, while one county agent reported very short soil moisture conditions. Dry conditions helped corn and sorghum producers as these crops continued to lose moisture prior to harvesting Where fields have dried out enough to allow combines in, the harvesting of sorghum has restarted. Cotton producers in some very dry areas were busy applying water to developing cotton bolls. Livestock producers continued to provide supplemental feeding and protein enhancers to their livestock as the quality of available forage decreased. Hay baling in some improved pastures continued this week.
South Plains: Temperatures returned to normal, and most fields had good to excellent subsoil moisture after the recent rains. Field activities included spraying for weeds and fertilization. Cotton was in fair to good condition, and some cotton began to bloom. Corn was in good to excellent condition. Even though some of the sorghum, sunflower and pea crops were planted late, early reports indicated most to be in good condition. Peanuts were in fair to good and continued to mature. Pastures and ranges were in poor to fair condition. Cattle were in mostly good condition, but supplemental feeding continued.
Southeast: Scattered rainfall over the past week greened up some areas. However, the rain, in conjunction with temperatures in the high 90s, did little to alleviate drought conditions. Grimes County was designated a disaster county due to drought conditions, excessive winds and temperature. Grain sorghum and hay harvests were ongoing. Parts of Jones Creek, Sweeny, Old Ocean, and Angleton received up to a half-inch of rain, but harvest activity quickly resumed. Pastures were weak. Hay baling slowed due to the lack of forage regrowth with no rain. Sorghum was behind in maturity.
Southwest: Hot, dry weather continued with year-to-date rainfall down about 74 percent from the long-term average for the same period. Cotton and peanuts made good progress under heavy irrigation. Corn and sorghum were drying down, and their harvest was expected to start soon. The onion harvest was completed as the watermelon and cantaloupe harvests wound down.
West Central: Hot, dry, windy conditions continued throughout the week. The danger of wildfire was extreme. Crops began to show signs of moisture and heat stress. Some cutting and baling of hay continued. Producers were spraying for weeds, but otherwise there was little field work due to drought conditions. Range and pastures continued to decline. Stock tank levels, already low, were rapidly dropping. Supplemental feeding of livestock continued.
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