Fall Cotton Tour Focuses On Avoiding Pesticide Drift Damage

There has been an exceptional amount of pesticide drift damage to crops this year in Southwest Oklahoma. Caddo County is seeing more damage this year than in past years.

Therefore, the program for the Fall Cotton Tour will focus on drift minimization when applying pesticides. The Carnegie Farmers COOP and Gin is sponsoring the event again this year and it will be held on the Merlin Schantz Farm on Thursday, September n". Registration will begin at 8:00 am at the Cotton Incorporated Enhanced variety trial located 1 mile north of Hydro on Highway 58, then turn right and go 2 miles east. Topics at that site will include cotton varieties and technologies, and irrigation moisture sensors.

At 10:00, the tour will move to the Schantz Farm headquarters, located 4 miles north of Hydro on Highway 58, and then turn left and go X mile south. A presentation will cover proper cotton module location and construction. There will also be several speakers that will be talking about some of the latest developments in pesticide drift management. These topics will include sprayer and nozzle factors, effects of drift on neighboring farms, and discussion of Monsanto's XtendFlex (dicamba tolerant) cotton and its current regulatory status.

This year commercial applicators attending the event can receive 3 CEUs in AgPlant and consultants and researchers can receive 3 CEUsin Research and Demonstration from ODAFF. Certified Crop Advisors can receive 3.5 CEUs, consisting of .5 CEU in Soil and Water, 1.5 in Pest Management, and 1.5 in Crop Production.