In anticipation of rains from Hurricane Isaac this week, Tom Barber, Arkansas cotton agronomist, has posted a defoliation alert at http://www.arkansas-crops.com.

“Cotton bolls are opening at high rates and there are only three things that can happen to this crop at this time and two of the three are bad," writes Barber. "Constant rainfall over a three day period will result in lost yield due to extensive hard lock and boll rot. For the bolls that are already open, this will string out the lint and significantly delay the quality. This cotton crop will withstand the heavy rains and winds much better with the leaves on, which will provide some protection for both open and unopened bolls.

“With Hurricane Isaac’s path in question, I would hold off on all defoliation applications at least until Wednesday(August 29). By Wednesday we should have a better idea of where Isaac will make landfall and where the track will be.”

Read the full report here.