Highlights of AG-CARES Results (1990-2001)

Randy Boman, Wayne Keeling, Kevin Bronson,

Terry Wheeler, Jim Bordovsky, and John Farris

•          Farm Enterprise 10-year returns from irrigated tillage systems (2000 report):

            System                                                                                               Net returns

                                                                                                                        $/acre

            Terminated small grains-cotton rotation, solid row, LEPA      181

            Conventional continuous cotton, solid row, LEPA                    174

            Peanut-cotton rotation (7-year average), LEPA                          207

•          Dryland cropping systems summary (1991, 1993, 1994) (1994 report):

            System                                                                                               Net returns

                                                                                                                        $/acre

            Continuous cotton

                        conventional tillage                                                             -14

                        minimum tillage solid planted                                          63

                        minimum tillage (2x1 skip row, based on ground acre yields

                                    And costs)                                                                 11

                        terminated wheat cotton                                        -2

            Conservation tillage

                        sorghum-cotton rotation                                        5

                        cotton-sorghum                                                                   25

                        wheat-cotton                                                                        79

                        cotton-wheat                                                                        -35

                        cotton-fallow-wheat                                                            77

                        cotton-fallow-wheat                                                            -29

                        cotton-fallow-wheat                                                            9

            Highest net returns were for the minimum tillage solid row cotton at $63/acre

            Due to drought over the last several years, no additional data were available.

•          Irrigation management (1995-1997) (1997 report):

            Irrigation       Alternate furrow                  Spray             % increase for LEPA

            % ET              LEPA                                                                         over spray

            50                    841                                          757                              11 

            75                    974                                          751                              29

            100                  952                                          902                              5

            Ultra-narrow row cotton production has not been profitable (1998, 1999 and 2000 reports).

•          Fertilizer management:

            14)      soil testing to 3 ft has indicated up to 230 lb N/acre in profile at AG-CARES, so test for residual and subtract from N requirement for upcoming year (about 60 lb N/bale of anticipated yield)

            P:        if Bray1 P test > 30 ppm (do not use if pH > 7.6)

                        or if Olsen > 10 ppm

                        or if Texas Cooperative Extension Lab > 44 ppm

                        then an economic response to P fertilizer is not likely

            K:       If > 125 ppm extractable potassium, then economic response to K fertilizer is not likely

            Zn:      if > 0.30 ppm extractable zinc, then economic response to Zn fertilizer is not likely

            Benefits from low rates of foliar fertilizer are not likely (1997 and 1998 reports)

•          Plant growth regulator small-plot applied research has not indicated that statistically significant yield increases from those products have been obtained in dryland or irrigated cotton systems, and are unprofitable (1994, 1997, 1998, reports).

•          Cotton seeding rate studies have indicated that final stand counts of as low as 2 plants per row-ft have been adequate for maximum irrigated and dryland cotton yield and quality (1994 report).

•          Nematode control studies indicate that AG-CARES has moderate root-knot nematode infestation, and current control recommendation is 5 lb/acre of Temik in-furrow at planting (1999 report).

•          Root-knot nematode density precision agriculture studies indicate that populations were correlated with canopy reflectance for conventional tillage and conservation tillage cotton systems during the 2000 crop year (2000 report).

•          Cotton varieties with Bollgard have not resulted in higher net value per acre (after paying seed and technology fees) than non-Bollgard types in the same genetic background due to low cotton bollworm populations (2000 and 2001 reports).

•          Roundup Ready cotton varieties using in-season Roundup Ultra applications has significantly improved weed control, reduced hand hoeing and cultivation.