A group of experts from the Agricultural Center said the lack of rain in the early summer has affected local corn and cotton crops, according to an AgCenter news release.
The dry weather forced some farmers to use additional insecticides to combat a variety of crop-damaging pests.
“We started early with spider mites during the dry weather,” LSU AgCenter cotton specialist Dr. Don Boquet. “Then as the corn matured, a lot of insects came out – both plant bugs and stink bugs.”
Most of the state’s corn crop will be harvested in the next few weeks, wrapping up just as farmers start harvesting cotton.
“Farmers are harvesting corn, and yields vary dramatically,” said LSU AgCenter extension associate Rob Ferguson. “Some farmers are getting nearly 200 bushels to the acre – near record levels, while others are seeing yields as low as 50 bushels to the acre, he said.”
 
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