My 30 Years Experience Growing Cotton In Missouri's Little Dixie
Thompson Villa, built c. 1857-1858, Arrow Rock, Missouri. This is the home built
by local merchant, lumber dealer, slave owner, and land speculator John C. Thompson.
Young cotton plants, Cooper County, Missouri.
Cotton at Harbor Farm, Cooper County, standing at 4 ft and 10 inches.
Cotton blooms and bolls in September, Saline County,
Missouri.
Cotton before picking in early October, Arrow Rock, Saline County, Missouri.
Raw cotton drying after the first pick in November.
Types of cotton I have grown in central Missouri.
Mississippi Brown (Upland)
Upland White
Working replica of Eli Whitney's cotton gin used
in the ginning of my cotton.
This is me working my gin at the annual Crafts Festival held in Arrow Rock,
Missouri. I use my gin in public demonstration so I can talk about the cotton
culture that once existed in Central Missouri.
Eli Whitney's cotton gin invented and patented in the early 1790's. Whitney's machine used rows of wire teeth placed on a cylinder to pull the cotton through slots and leaving the seeds. A few years later Whitney revised his gin and adopted the more popular circular saw blade process as a replacement for the wire teeth.
Growing Upland Cotton in Central Missouri
By Gary Gene Fuenfhausen
Variety
Upland Cotton, Gossypium Hirsutum, is characterized as a short staple variety
with a seed that adheres tenaciously to the fiber. The seed of the upland
variety is also known as "green seed," compared to the smooth black seed of
"sea-island." Both sea-island and Egyptian cotton, Gossypium Barbadense, are a
"long staple" and are limited to cultivation along the sea board of the of the
Southern coastal United States. The more tropical sea-island and Egyptian cotton
have a silky fiber that does not cling to the seed. Other varieties of green
seed cotton include Xylon Herbaceum.
Today's cotton is the result of cross breeding to obtain the optimum product for
a region's environment, such as its soil, temperature, and humidity conditions.
Planting and Harvesting Cotton
Planting cotton begins as early as February in Texas, while in Missouri planting
can last as late a June. For central Missouri, the best yields result in
planting beginning as early as the middle of April when day time are averages are
in the 60s or above. After May 15th, significant decreases in the harvest
can be expected. Cotton requires between 150 to 180 days for maturity.
Harvesting cotton begins in July in South Texas and in October for Missouri and
other northern areas of the Cotton Belt. Harvesting may last well into November
in Missouri.
Average Growing Season in Missouri
Average growing season in Missouri
186 days - Saint Joseph, Buchanan County
190 days - Central Missouri
190 days - Springfield, Green County
Average date of last frost in Missouri
April 11 - Saint Joseph, Buchanan County
April 12 - Central Missouri
April 13 - Springfield, Green County
Average date of first frost in Missouri
Oct. 14 - Saint Joseph, Buchanan County
October 17 - Central Missouri
October 20 - Springfield, Green County
Terminology
Blossom - A creamy white flower of the cotton plant that turns to yellow, pink,
and finally red before withering and falling off.
Boll - After the flower turns color and begins to withers, a green rounded pod
will appear. This pod is the cotton boll.
Cotton Belt - In the United States, there are 17 cotton-producing states that
make up the "Cotton Belt." The 14 most important cotton producing states where
cotton is a major product are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia,
Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South
Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. Other states that cultivate some cotton are
Florida, Kansas, and Virginia.
Cottonseed Oil - The crushed oil of the cottonseed used for making shortening,
cooking oil, and salad dressing.
Staple - fiber length
Gin - A machine that uses circular saw blades with small sharp teeth to pull the
fiber from the seed. Hogden Holmes of Augusta, GA patented the first circular
saw gin, in 1797. Eli Whitney patented the first gin that used wire brushes in
1794.
Picking - Cotton was customarily hand picked three times, "bottom," "middle,"
and "top" crops. The middle picking will furnish the largest and best quality
product. Cotton was first picked and placed in baskets, or on large sheets near
the row. During the late Victorian period after the Civil War, picked cotton was
put in large bags that were strapped on the picker's shoulder.
Harvester - A mechanical device, either the "Stripper" (Texas & Oklahoma only)
or "Spindle Pickers" (used in the rest of the Belt), used in removing cotton
from the plant in the field.
Lint - cotton fiber that has been ginned
Linters - The fuzzy down left on the cottonseed after the ginning process. This
lint is removed and used in many products, such as cellulose for the making of
plastics, explosives, and paper.
Middling - The best cotton picked from the middle part of the plant. Middling
now refers to harvested cotton that is of a superior grade.
Modules - A big rectangular mound of picked cotton that is the size of a truck
trailer bed, approximately 12 bales. The module has replaced the cotton bale,
which often averaged about 500 pounds.
Square - The flower bud of a cotton plant.
"Chopping out" - The thinning of young cotton plants to obtain the optimum
number of plants per foot.
Topping - Because of the fertility of central Missouri's soil, "topping" or
trimming may be required during the later months of the cotton's development. It
is not unusual for a cotton plant to grow 4-6 feet in the area if well watered
and fertilized. Since the majority of the upper sections of the plant will not
fully develop, the plant can be topped. Topping was historically done in certain
areas of the Cotton Belt, while today, this method is not practiced.
Trash - Foreign objects that are cleaned from cotton before it is ginned, such
as burs, dirt, stems, and leafs.
Planting and Cultivating Guide for Central Missouri
Soil temperature - Cotton requires a temperature of greater than 60 degrees F
for germination. A good morning soil temperature is about 65 degrees F.
Depending on the year and air temperatures, planting can begin as early as late
April or the first week of May.
Planting rate - Plant 4 seeds per row foot with a final population, after
chopping out, of 3 plants per row foot.
Row spacing - Space cotton rows 30-inches apart. (Close spacing of cotton
increases the fruitfulness. If you increase the row spacing, or reduce the rate
of seed per foot, the result will be a lower yield.)
Plant cotton in shallow ridges, or beds, in most areas and use "level planting"
when soils are light and sandy.
Growing Hints
* Sun should reach all parts of the cotton plant for proper boll development.
The cotton branches of nearby rows should not interlock.
* Let the first frost kill the plant leafs so they drop. After
leaf drop, harvesting can begin. This practice keeps your cotton clean.
* Do not leave your seed cotton in the field if temperatures are to drop below
20 degrees. Although, I have had seed survive on the ground all winter in
central Missouri and sprout the following spring.
* During the first months of plant development it is crucial that you kept weeds
at a minimum. Later in the season, the leaves of the cotton plant will fully
shade the ground and suppress weed development.
* Cotton plants love sunshine and humidity, just what Missouri offers during the
growing season. Plenty of rain is needed for plant emergence and early
development, something that is not always reliable in central Missouri.
*Cotton grows best between 65 to 85 degrees F.
Cotton Development Schedule
Planting - April 15 through May 15
Seedlings Emerge - 5 to 14 days, an average of 12
First Square - On average about 1 ½ to 2 months after planting, or 48 days.
First Bloom - On average about 10 weeks after planting, around the 4th of July.
The blooms take about 3 weeks to open after square development
First open boll - Bolls will open 50 - 70 days after the first bloom, beginning
around late September. Bolls will then open over several weeks, from late
September through mid to late October.
Harvest - Late September through November.
Copyright 2009
Research and Photographs by Gary Gene
Fuenfhausen
For problems or questions regarding this Web site contact [garyfuenfh@aol.com].