The Beltwide Cotton Conferences have changed their format, but the National Cotton Council-sponsored event, continues to draw a large number of specialists from across the cotton-producing portions of the U.S. and the world.

Although the event no longer has a general production meeting aimed specifically at growers, the Consultants Conference features a number of presentations aimed at topics of general interest to consultants and their growers.

Among those at this year’s conference in New Orleans were papers on the value of drones in Extension education, a smartphone app for scheduling irrigation in cotton, managing bollworms in Bt cotton, tobacco thrips – seed treatments and alternatives, cover crop value in managing Palmer amaranth and auxin-tolerant cotton – managing weeds and off-target movement .

Others included the impact of potassium applications on cotton yield, evaluation of the effect of 2,4-D drift on cotton, on-farm cotton variety performance, best management practices for irrigation cotton, sulfur management on coastal plains soils and the value of rotations – lessons learned from the first 12 years of the Mississippi Centennial Rotation.

Attendees also heard a number of presentations about new cotton varieties and other technologies that will benefit producers in 2016 and coming years during the Consultants Conference.

Besides the Consultants sessions, which opened the Beltwide this year, the 11 technical conferences included a full range of presentations on issues of concern within the cotton industry. Here are some photos of attendees at this year’s event.

For more information on the Beltwide, go to www.cotton.org.