By Kay Ledbetter
Extreme or exceptional drought in some regions and excess moisture under cloudy conditions in other areas are causing different stressors for Texas crops as the summer season nears completion, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts within the Texas A&M Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
According to the Texas Drought Monitor map, 93% of the state has fallen into at least early drought stages, with more than 35% experiencing severe drought or worse. This is an increase of 8% from last week and 25% more than this time last year.
Increased stress due to drought leads to many other concerns: less water for irrigation, reduced yields, greater insect infestation and crop disease, a need for increased irrigation amid dropping water tables, reduced pasture and forage, early supplemental feeding of livestock, decreased stock weights, and less water in ponds, creeks and playa lakes.
One of the bright spots
The Coastal Bend is wrapping up cotton harvest with few problems. Good spring rains provided enough subsoil moisture to last row crops like corn, sorghum and cotton through most of July without significant moisture stress, said Josh McGinty, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agronomist and assistant professor, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Corpus Christi.
However, extreme heat and dry conditions are causing concerns about soil moisture profiles for future plantings.
Source : tamu.edu