FrameWork In the Field

May 21, 2025

Navigating Late May Cotton Planting: Yield, Variety, and Fertility Considerations 

As I sit here in my office on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, I am watching it rain at the Tidewater AREC.  A little over a week ago, like most of our producers in the Tidewater region, my research group was well ahead of schedule planting corn, cotton and peanuts… Last week brought rain (in some areas over 6.0+ inches) and now with today folks are wondering what to do with $0.65 / lb lint and later planting dates.

I have received several phone calls about variety selection and which varieties would be best planted from late May to early June. First, let me say that late planted cotton raises the management level as plant growth regulator and integrated pest management becomes even more critical. Any delay in crop maturity puts a producer more at-risk during harvest season. Over the many years we have conducted planting date studies after May 15-20, cotton yields start to decline linearly (consistently) as planting date is delayed. 1,100 – 1,200 lb lint per acre can be achieved with early June planted cotton. Over the years, we have observed that the later planting dates produce a more consistent yield compared to the peak planting season, with results that are not as high but also not as low as the earliest planting dates (late April).  In 2024, most of the OVT’s and strip trials were planted in the second half of May.   A hard cutoff for planting cotton in Virginia would be around June 5^th. Cotton planted after this day can significantly drop in yield potential.

Now to the variety selection component for late planted cotton… Early to Mid-maturing cotton varieties are fine to be planted up to May 25^th in my opinion. A list of these varieties that perform well in Virginia’s OVT and On-Farm Testing program are (in no specific order): PHY 415 W3FE, DP 2333 B3XF, DP 2038 B3XF, and PHY 411 W3FE. After May 25^th, I would recommend switching to early maturing varieties such as (again in no specific order): DP 2115 B3XF, NG 3195 B3XF, PHY 360 W3FE, DP 2414 B3TXF and DP 2211 B3TXF.  If you choose to plant cotton from May 25^th – June 5^th, remember to actively scout and management for earliness. Cotton planted after May 25 doesn’t bloom until the end of July, gets bigger, grows faster, and the bolls remain susceptible to insect damage until Labor Day.  Defoliation generally occurs during the second half of October.

The second question that I have been asked recently… “Are the nutrients I applied at-planting still in available with all this rain?”. The honest answer is “it depends” … meaning that not all areas received 6+ inches of rainfall, however some did. First, knowing your depth to a clay layer will help gauge the potential depth of leaching in that field. For most of our soils a clay layer can be found 12 – 18 inches deep. There are fields where this layer is much lower and the risk for nutrient leaching in these fields is the greatest. Let’s start with corn; if you have not applied your side-dress nitrogen (hopefully most are in this category) you may want to make this a priority as soon as you can get across the field. Depending on your nitrogen application rate at planting and the growth stage, corn is entering the period of rapid growth and will need those nutrients. For those that have applied your side-dress nitrogen and received high rainfall plus are on a field susceptible to leaching, you may think about applying additional nitrogen. I would recommend a tissue sample to confirm low or possible nitrogen or sulfur deficiency before doing so. At V5, this would be collecting 15-25 whole plants from areas of interest in the field and sending them to your preferred agricultural laboratory.

For cotton fertility, I would not be too worried about leaching as nutrient use at this time in cotton is very low. A scenario that may need some hard thought is where a producer has applied all their potassium at or before planting and was susceptible to large rainfall events the past two weeks (4+ inches of rainfall). This may be a situation where added potassium will be needed to avoid potential potassium deficiencies during the bloom period. For nitrogen and sulfur, I would simply plan to be a little earlier with my side-dress applications than normal to combat any deficiencies. Adding extra fertility in a year where planting date has been delayed and prices are low is a decision each producer must make for his/her operation.

If you have further questions, please reach out to Dr. Hunter Frame: whframe@vt.edu or 757-653-8292 (cell).