Pros And Cons Of Early Planting

By Amanda Huber


Bill Pettigrew, USDA-ARS agronomist in Stoneville, Miss., has spent more than a decade studying cotton's optimum planting date.

"A consistent yield advantage could be gained from planting in the first half of April instead of in the traditional planting time of late April to early May," Pettigrew says. "The idea of this approach is to shift bloom closer to the first day of summer, the day with the longest period of sunlight, which synchronizes peak bloom with the availability of more sunlight to achieve maximum photosynthesis."

However, all of these studies were conducted with the use of irrigation. Interested in what effect the absence of irrigation would have, Pettigrew conducted a four-year study on the yield performance of irrigated versus dryland cotton planted early compared to normal planting time.

Six different varieties were planted either the first week of April or the first week of May. Half of the plots were irrigated, the other half dryland. Except for the first year of the study, which was affected by hurricanes, irrigation always increased lint yield regardless of the planting date.



source : cottonfarming