Journal
SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH
Volume 168, Issue -, Pages 133-142Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.still.2016.12.009
Keywords
Soil compaction; Conservation farming; Cotton row spacing
Categories
Funding
- Cotton Research and Development Corporation [CSP1305, NEC1301]
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Expanding the row spacing of cotton can improve water efficiency by enlarging the micro-catchment for water and reducing the number of plants per hectare, as well as facilitating controlled traffic conversion of heavy harvesting machinery. This work assesses the effects of 1.5 m row spacing on cotton yield, fibre quality and water use efficiency (WUE) in comparison to the traditional 1.0 m row spacing cotton system. A replicated, side-by-side, commercial scale experiment was instigated with a 1.5 m row spacing controlled traffic system compared against a 1.0 m row spacing standard cotton system. Cotton fibre characteristics, fruiting position and yield were measured along with system water use, in the context of machine traffic. A detailed analysis of soil resource impact is provided in the companion paper. The 1.5 m row spacing system was shown to perform better than the 1.0 m row spacing system in terms of WUE and machine traffic impact over the two cotton seasons and single wheat season. In the 1.5 m system cotton WUE was greater with higher gross margin, even though less cotton yield was harvested. The 1.5 m row spacing cotton matured more slowly, led to stronger and longer cotton fibres with overall better fibre quality. Increased gross margin potential of the 1.5 m system was shown to entirely offset the cost of controlled traffic conversion within 1 season for a field where heavy machinery had not been used extensively. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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