My experience with the use of the GOSSYM model has been for two crop years 1984 and 1985. The model has simulated the growth and fruiting of a representative cotton plant in the field where actual cotton is grown. All of the information generated by the model, by the researchers validating the information, by me, and my farm manager (C.W. Morris) has been processed by a main frame computer at USDA, Mississippi State, and then down loaded to an IBM PC in my office where we play 'What if?' games with the representative plant.

As the year progresses, the information that the computer has to act on becomes more accurate. For instance, instead of projecting on June 15 that the weather will be 1982 weather the rest of the crop year (June 15 - October 15; 120 additional days), on August 15 you only have to project weather for 60 additional days (August 15 - October 15). The weather for the immediate 60 days previous (June 15 - August 15) is actual weather and each day the weather information becomes history.

As we play the 'What if?' games during the course of the crop, various crop inputs are analyzed as to their economy using various weather records from previous years. The model is not yet ready to predict insect variables so it cannot advise us when to use insecticides or which insects we are to expect.

By the time the model has enough accurate information (enough history and not projected information) only several decisions are left to be made. These include additional nitrogen amounts and timing, additional irrigation amounts and timing, and when to use a boll opener and defoliate. All of these various crop costs must be analyzed against the additional (or less) yield that they will generate or whether the additional nitrogen, for instance, would delay the maturity of the crop and create harvesting delays.

My philosophy on making cotton is to plant and nurture the crop to insure the most healthy, insect-free environment for the fruiting life of the plant. To provide every possible means within the limitations of the climate and soil to produce harvestable fruit. The cotton wants to produce seed and in so doing, it produces lint.It cannot be allowed to leave the fruiting mode once it gets there and return to the vegetative mode. GOSSYM is so designed to substantiate this philosophy.