It is said that “patience is a virtue”, and patience will be needed when planning plant tissue sampling after the recent wet, cold start to the cotton season.

Cold shock days have set crops back by 50 to 100 DD for time to first flowers, and waterlogging will have taken its toll on root development.

While general instruction for early plant tissue samples refers to standard timings, seasonal adjustments taking into account current conditions is required.

Making sure that the sample plants are actively growing is of prime importance.

Sampling too early after a waterlogging event can make interpretation of plant nutrient concentration difficult, particularly if root activity is still compromised.

Signs that growth conditions are appropriate for sampling include
• New white roots visible in the surface soil layers
• Active leaf emergence in the terminal bud
• Internode elongation
• Soil moisture probe data indicating crop water use is accelerating

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