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Conservation Tillage Field Comparisons for 18 Sites in South Texas

J. R. Smart, J. M. Bradford and D. J. Makus


 
ABSTRACT

Adoption of conservation tillage for cotton production in South Texas has increased dramatically over the past few years but there are still many producers unaware of the benefits. The climatic conditions and soil types of South Texas are quite different from the Southeast United States where other producers have been successful with conservation tillage cotton. A greater knowledge of the benefits and risks of conservation tillage practices under a subtropical, semi-arid environment can help producers better evaluate tillage practices as a component of their farming operation. The objectives of this study were to compare the effects between conventional moldboard tillage and conservation tillage on cotton yields, production costs and net returns. Economics of cotton production and lint yields as affected by tillage in a semi-arid, subtropical environment, were examined over a three year period on eighteen different producer fields. Six producer fields in 1997, five fields in 1998, and seven fields in 1999 were split and one-half of each was farmed using conventional tillage practices and one-half of each field was farmed using conservation tillage practices. Seeding rate, fertilizer, irrigation, insect management, and other production factors were the same for both tillage systems. Average cotton lint yields in the conservation tillage fields in 1997, 1998, and 1999 were 137, 87, and 110 pounds greater than in the conventional tillage fields. In 1997 five of the six sites had equivalent or greater yields, four of five fields examined in 1998 had equivalent or greater yields, and in 1999 six of seven fields had equivalent or greater lint yields when conservation tillage was compared to conventional moldboard tillage. Production costs were $55-65/acre less in the conservation tillage fields and net returns averaged $129, $118, and $70/acre more with conservation tillage in 1997, 1998, and 1999 compared with the conventional tillage methods. Results of this three year study apply to cotton following grain sorghum. Conservation tillage cotton was produced with lower input costs and had equal or greater economic returns than the conventional moldboard plow tillage system.



Reprinted from Proceedings of the 2000 Beltwide Cotton Conferences pp. 1435 - 1437
©National Cotton Council, Memphis TN

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Document last modified Saturday, Jun 17 2000