The advantage of narrow row planted cotton over the traditional 1 m row spacing was demonstrated in this study from a water use efficiency standpoint. Cotton plants planted in narrow rows (0.33 and 0.67 row widths) used about the same water as the traditionally spaced plants. However, narrow spaced plants significantly outyielded the traditional rows and thus exhibited a higher water use efficiency (WUE - defined here as the ratio of lint yield to total water used in the season). Irrigation enhanced yield and WUE of all plant spacing.

Additionally, a cotton crop simulator, GOSSYM, was validated with the experimental data for simulation of cotton grown in the semiarid environment of the Southern High Plains of Texas. GOSSYM was found to be responsive to management changes and it offers a valuable research and management tool when some adjustments are made for High Plains cultivars.