When to Harvest Cotton: Factors to Determine Ideal Cotton Harvest Timing

Determining when to harvest cotton in the Mid-South and Southeast requires a careful look at the crop’s physical characteristics, an understanding of your state’s unique regional conditions and an assessment of local weather conditions. By researching when to harvest cotton, you’ll be able to customize a plan for your fields whether you farm in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi or Texas.

Here’s what you need to know to ensure your harvest season kicks off at the right time.

When is cotton harvested? General principles to determine timing

Here are some widely used tactics to help you assess whether your cotton crop is ready to harvest. State-specific considerations are listed in the next section. Combined, these will help you protect fiber quality and maximize yield potential.

Nodes Above Cracked Boll (NACB) method for determining maturity

One way to time defoliation is to look carefully at your cotton bolls using a method called Nodes Above Cracked Boll (NACB). The process goes like this:

• First, assess individual cotton plants regularly. In each field, it’s best to study 20 randomly selected plants for the most representative data.¹ Choose those plants by first splitting the field into four imaginary quadrants and selecting five plants at random from within each quadrant.
• Second, when looking at plants, determine (1) the location of the node of the first-position cracked boll, and (2) how many fruiting branches are located above that boll.
• Third, verify that there are four or more nodes above the first-position cracked boll. If so, you may proceed with defoliation.²
  

If you plant at lower populations, you might be able to defoliate at an NACB of three nodes.³ Consult your agronomist or another trusted adviser to confirm your plans.

(Manuel Trinidad)

Physiological indicators and the knife test

In addition to using NACB, you can implement the knife test on the 20 randomly selected plants to ensure the youngest harvestable bolls on each plant are mature. If the youngest bolls are mature, the whole plant is harvest-ready.

With the knife, cut open several cotton bolls. If the bolls are ready to be harvested, the lint inside will stretch out in fluffy strips. Additionally, there will be only small, folded leaves inside the seed embryo, and the space will contain no jelly-like substance. The seed coat should be a tan or yellow color.

Regional and weather-based selection of harvest aids

Tailor your use of chemicals such as boll openers, defoliants and desiccants based on temperature forecasts and weather conditions in your state and local area.

State-specific guidelines for when to harvest cotton

Because cotton harvest can range from June to November depending on where you farm, it’s important to understand some regional rules of thumb to optimize the production value of your crop.

When is cotton harvested in Alabama?

Experts recommend that Alabama farmers begin to prepare cotton-harvesting equipment in September and apply harvest aids in October and early November.⁴ Cotton harvest typically happens in November in Alabama.

When is cotton harvested in Arkansas?

In Arkansas, cotton harvest generally happens about 150 days after planting.⁵ Assuming an ideal planting window that optimizes yield potential (roughly April 23 to 30), harvest should generally happen in late September or early October.

When is cotton harvested in Georgia?

It’s normally best to harvest cotton in Georgia from late September through November, when rain odds are often lower than at other times of year.⁶

When is cotton harvested in Mississippi?

Historically, cotton harvest in Mississippi begins in late September and wraps up in late October.⁷

When is cotton harvested in Texas?

Because of its vast and diverse growing regions, the harvest window for Texas is expansive, running from October through December.⁸

Trusted advisers can help you determine when to harvest cotton in your region

So when should you harvest cotton? Ultimately, it depends on where you farm, what weather conditions you’re facing and how your crop is maturing. Experts are available to help you make decisions about your cotton harvest. Reach out to your seed retailer, a nearby extension office agent or a seed company professional like your regional BASF representative.

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Endnotes

1. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program. “Monitoring Plant Growth.” Agriculture: Cotton Pest Management Guidelines,https://ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/cotton/monitoring-plant-growth/#gsc.tab=0. Accessed 8 July 2026.
2. “Application Timing.” Mississippi State University Extension Service,https://extension.msstate.edu/agriculture/crops/cotton/application-timing. Accessed 29 June 2026.
3. Hand, Camp, editor. 2024 Georgia Cotton Production Guide. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, 24 Sept. 2024,https://fieldreport.caes.uga.edu/publications/AP124-4/2024-georgia-cotton-production-guide/. Accessed 29 June 2026.
4. Wood, Steve. “Cotton Production Calendar.” Alabama Cooperative Extension System, 6 Dec. 2018,https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/crop-production/cotton-production-calendar/. Accessed 29 June 2026.
5. Robertson, Bill, Ben Thrash, and Bob Barber. 2022 Arkansas Cotton Quick Facts. University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service, 2022,https://www.uaex.uada.edu/farm-ranch/crops-commercial-horticulture/cotton/2022-Arkansas-Cotton-Quick-Facts.pdf. Accessed 29 June 2026.
6. Hand, Camp, editor. 2024 Georgia Cotton Production Guide.
7. Griffin, Terry, and Ed Barnes. “Available Time to Plant and Harvest Cotton across the Cotton Belt.” The Journal of Cotton Science, vol. 21, 2017, pp. 8–17,https://www.cotton.org/journal/2017-21/1/upload/JCS21-008.pdf. Accessed 29 June 2026.
8. “Cotton Production Regions of Texas.” Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service,https://cottonbugs.tamu.edu/cotton-production-regions-of-texas/. Accessed 29 June 2026.