Winter vegetable crops were performing well in the Rio Grande Valley, and high demand and decent prices are making for a good start to 2022, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert.
Juan Anciso, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agronomist, Weslaco, said the 2022 season had been good for growers so far. But cold fronts, production supply shortages and irrigation rationing are keeping growers humble and hopeful good conditions remain.
Anciso said cool season crops like onions, carrots, cabbage, celery and many varieties of leafy greens from spinach to cilantro were in good condition prior to the recent cold front and appear to have avoided significant damage. Temperatures reached just above freezing most nights but winds up to 20 mph were dropping wind chills below freezing.
Some leaf burn is expected but should not be bad if temperatures do not dip into the 20s, he said.
Producers in the Rio Grande Valley have been reporting average to aboveaverage yields and belowaverage pressure from insects and disease, he said.
Market prices and demand for cool-season vegetables have been very strong, especially compared to this time last year, Anciso said.
Anciso said better prices provide growers a better chance at profits due to higher input prices on everything from fertilizer and fuel to packaging and labor.
Vegetables are typically irrigated by drip tape that delivers water directly to plant roots, and fertilizer is spooned in for individual plants, Anciso said. Vegetables also require more nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium than row crops like corn or cotton.
Anciso said availability of crop maintenance supplies is of greater concern than higher prices for inputs.
“Some supplies like drip tape and plastic for low tunnels are in shorter supply than usual and therefor prices are higher,” he said. “But some things, if you can’t get it, you just can’t get it.”
Anciso said water is another looming concern for growers in the Rio Grande Valley. South Texas is a historically dry region, but irrigation has created year-round cropping opportunities due to its warmer climate.
Growers in the Rio Grande Valley prefer to control water rations for vegetable crops, Anciso said. Therefore, they prefer that the rain falls elsewhere in the watersheds that feed the lower Rio Grande River or the region’s primary reservoirs of Falcon Lake, between McAllen and Laredo, and Lake Amistad, north of Del Rio.
Falcon Lake’s capacity sits at 23% while Lake Amistad is around 48% capacity, Anciso said. Water districts are already rationing water allotments for agricultural production.
Anciso said it is still too early to tell, but water availability for spring-planted crops like corn, sorghum and cotton and the subsequent fall cropping season could be a concern. Lake Amistad controls downstream water flows that feed into Falcon Lake, but both are fed by watersheds in Mexico, west of the Rio Grande River.
It is a difficult spot for growers to be hoping for rain where it is needed and hoping against too much rain where it could put crops in jeopardy, he said.
AgriLife Extension district reporters compiled the following summary for the CENTRAL district:
Winter Storm Landon arrived mid-week with ice, sleet, rainfall and temperatures into the teens during a few days. Rainfall and some scattered thunderstorms were welcome with most areas receiving 3-7 inches during the week. The rainfall events essentially wiped out severe drought conditions that have prevailed since early fall. Some soil erosion occurred and low water crossings were flooded, so some fields may require tillage before planting to smooth out water runs. The icy cold conditions frosted the winter oat crop and caused more damage to winter wheat. The extent of damage will be determined in the upcoming week as temperatures return to normal. Some growers were hoping to begin planting corn next week but will be delayed to at least mid-month now. The rainfall may encourage more corn acres to be planted. Some winter weed spraying was completed before the rainfall. Calving had not started, and the severe weather did not appear to affect livestock, but supplemental feeding was necessary.