February is shaping up to be a mixed bag across Southeast Queensland, with growth stages scattered depending on where you are. Mundubbera crops are kicking off their flowering, while over in Byee and the Lockyer Valley, flowering is well underway and bolls are filling nicely. Some fields might even be nudging toward cutout in the next few weeks.

In the Somerset, those early bolls are starting to crack open, and a few crops could be heading for a mid‑to‑late February defoliation.

On the pest front, mirids are making their presence known around the Byee area—some growers are already up to three sprays for the season. A bit of shedding has also shown up across the valley after those cloudy stretches we had.

A look into the season so far

As January wrapped up, the Byee region continued to track ahead of its 10‑year average, with more day‑degrees accumulated than usual. Rainfall is sitting about 26 mm above average, and there’s been one fewer cold‑shock day than normal.

The Lockyer Valley tells a similar story - day degrees are ahead, temps are right on the 10-year mean, and rainfall is sitting roughly 50 mm above average.

See the weather metrics for both regions below.

Figure 1: CottonTracka™ season weather metrics Byee starting 24^th October 2025.

Figure 2: CottonTracka™ season weather metrics Forest Hill starting 7^th November 2025.

 More detailed comparisons are available through CSD’s CottonTracka. 

Looking towards cut-out

For crops approaching cutout, it’s worth remembering that by the time you hit this point, about 95% of your harvestable yield is already locked in. This is generally identified when the crop reaches an average of 3-4 nodes above white flower (NAWF).

Once your cotton crop reaches cutout, management focus shifts from promoting growth, to nurturing the bolls already set through to defoliation and harvest. While the plant's capacity for new fruiting sites is limited at this stage, there are still crucial management steps you can take to maximise yield potential:

1. Cutout Timing
   Cutout occurs when the crop reaches 4 nodes above white flower (NAWF4), after this point, the plant shifts fully into boll filling, and new fruiting stops.
   
   
2. Nutrition After Cutout
   Applying fertiliser after cutout is not beneficial. It often pushes the plant back into vegetative growth, causing delays in maturity.
   
   
3. Pest & Disease Monitoring
   Continue monitoring late in the season but consider cost‑effectiveness of sprays. Key checks include:

• Soil moisture
• Percentage of open bolls
• Insect pressure
  
  

4. Irrigation for Boll Maturation
   Late irrigation must balance:

• Providing enough moisture for boll filling
• Ensuring fields dry in time for defoliation and picking
  Irrigation decisions depend on days to defoliation, boll maturity, crop water use, and soil moisture targets.
  
  

5. Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs)
   High late‑season PGR rates are often used to stop unwanted vegetative regrowth. Apply based on:

• Achieving target boll numbers
• Signs of late, unnecessary growth
• Regional cut-off dates for effective fruiting
• know your growth rates
  
  

For more information surrounding cutout, check out the knowledge library on the CSD website for research articles.

Mepiquat chloride application often comes up in these discussions, so what are we doing? Stuart’s project that is being undertaken this season in some valleys is looking at variety responses to differential mepiquat application rates. This builds on the work we’ve supported CSIRO to do over last few seasons.

Upcoming events and news

A field day will be held in collaboration with Nutrien Murgon in Byee on 26 February. Keep an eye out for more information regarding the field walk on our socials or via email.

The FastStart™ pathways programme for young agronomists is on again. Here is the sign up form for anyone who is interested. Learn more on the FastStart website.

Feel you need to understand cotton a bit better or are just newly starting out with cotton? The new CRDC Cotton Course will be run by the University of Sydney 10-12th March this year. Currently there are still places so why not register yourself or one of your staff now!

CSD Extension and Development Agronomist’s Chris Barry and Rachel Russell (Burnett, Fraser Coast and Lockyer Valley) 

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