ABSTRACT

Steadily increasing costs of production have resulted in declining and non-existent profits for cotton producers in the Mississippi Delta for several years. This problem combined with stagnant yields and a declining price has raised serious questions about the viability of cotton production in the Mississippi Delta. In an effort to address these questions, an intensive look at ways to reduce production costs for cotton in the area was begun in the year 2002. These efforts centered around three no-till systems of production, solid planted dryland cotton, solid planted irrigated cotton and full skip 2x1 dryland cotton. In addition, where possible insecticide applications were only made on the 20-inch band in an effort to reduce insect control costs. The first year's results of this study indicate that no-till production and other cost reducing practices offer some hope for reducing the cost of cotton production without any serious impact on yield. The largest cost reduction occurred in 2x1 dryland cotton, but a great deal of this cost reduction was more associated with the planting pattern than no-till.