Dear Grower,,

Welcome to November!  

Welcome to the start of November in the Balonne, which sees most of the cotton planting now complete, except for some that are undertaking replants or waiting on rain, to determine whether to plant the last few fields. The start of the season has certainly been hot, with multiple days over 35^°C and also managing to crack the 40^°C mark, before November rolled in. Looking at past year’s data from 15 September until the start of November, it’s the warmest start to a season since 2006, in terms of average temperature and total day degree accumulation.

Some early planted crops are still quite small, due to initial cold shocks, despite the high maximums - although they are taking off now. While the October planted crops are starting to see first true leaves. The heat has affected moisture in many fields, often drying down at such a rapid pace that some seeds were not able to be imbibed, thus sitting in a dry part of the profile.

Seasonal Focus: November in the valley  

Crop Stages  

Through November, cotton across the Balonne will likely hit its strides if water can be kept up - squaring will be visible in crops that were planted in late September and those just establishing now will quickly pack on true leaves, as the day degrees rack up. The season is off to a positive start, despite some hiccups from wind, heat and rapidly drying soils, so it has been encouraging to see good establishments for many fields. 

Weather Watch  

The Bureau of Meteorology outlook suggests a warmer-than-average month for November with the potential to extend into summer, and above average temperatures in the night for most of Queensland. Rainfall forecasts are expected to sit around average for the region. More locally, the beginning of November has brought a small reprieve with some storms and showers, although temperatures look like they will climb back into the 40’s shortly after.

Irrigation  

Field preparation has been good this season, with a dry winter allowing for machinery to work fields. There has been a mix of pre-irrigation and watering up, but as mentioned, the start of the season has been hot and windy , with minmal rainfall. There are mixed experiences with how long irrigation is taking - some fields are wetting up quickly, whileothers are running water for longer than usual. The plant lines in pre-irrigated fields are beginning to crack open as seedling search for moisture and it is likely that first irrigations will be earlier than usual for many.

Weed and Pests

Thrips are making their presence felt around the Balonne region this season and there is some damage noticeable on small cotton plants. Populations do seem to be under control, despite the range in area that thrips are covering, which seems to extend across most of the Balonne. Although not pest related, sandblasting has been observed on seedlings in isolated areas. Weeds have been well controlled, largely due to good prep work in the region. Volunteer cotton is being taken care of as growers cultivate their fields, or via post-plant, pre-emergent sprays.

Trial site updates

All variety trials and Try Before You Buy sites are now planted. We have a strong line-up of XtendFlex® varieties, some in direct comparison to the current varieties containing Roundup Ready Flex® technology. There are also trials with the new experimental lines across the region this year, as the program has expanded from 2 trials last year, to 7 this season.

The first trial was planted in early October, after being pre-irrigated in late September and the final trial was watered up on 16 October. Almost all trials have fully emerged and are punching along, with the most advanced around four true leaves, at the beginning of November. First flower for many crops is predicted for early December.

- Larissa

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