We really have to change up chemistries over here over the season. We start defoliating the first week of September with lows in lower 70's and highs in the low 90's, then by the end of defolication season in late October, lows are in the upper 40's with highs in the upper 70's, and boll openers, defolicants and regrowth products are really dependent on temperatures for rates. Most cases, we can do it in one trip.

Some fields have more fruit to open than others, more juvenile growth than others, and sometimes we even need to dessicate weeds. I really have a good time as a consultant assessing fields ready for defolication and putting together the best bang for the buck. In early season with a crop finishing up uniformly on schedule, we can do a good job for as little as $10 per acre, but late season when there are lower temperatures, more juvenile growth to deal with, and bolls to open, we get on up to about $19.

My favorite combination is 4 oz Ginstar + 12 oz Finish + 12 oz ethephon. Some folks listen to me tell this one and laugh, but I like it because it works, and helps keep economy down. It offers defoliation + juvenile growth + regrowth in the Ginstar AND speed from the Finish, AND defoliation + boll opening from the Finish and ethephon. With Finish costing more than the standard ethephon products, we save a little money this way, get premium boll opening with adequate ethephon, plus the speed of Finish. In late season, the same products go in at about 6 + 16 + 16. In all honesty, regular old ethephon will do anything Finish will, but it takes about three to five more days; I like the options of speeding things along, as that helps us plan harvest logistics better, as well as weather.

Our state consultants association has spent some time the last several years putting out demonstration plots over the area, and have the results at our website, http://www.georgiacropconsultants.org/. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to the area called "Special Projects".