"Irrigation increased lint yield by 55 percent in three of the four years," he says. "Under early planted conditions, in 2006 and 2007, yield was increased by 13 percent under irrigated conditions, but not dryland."
Pettigrew found that under dryland conditions early planting decreased lint yield. "Dryland producers probably shouldn't consider planting early."
As for fiber quality, early planting produced, on average, five percent weaker fiber.
"It would not have been in the discount range, but we also tended to see an increase in short fiber in about 50 percent of the situations," Pettigrew says.
In most years, planting early, and only with the use of irrigation, offers producers the opportunity to increase yields and get the crop picked before harvest conditions deteriorate.
"It's kind of an avoidance strategy, getting the crop set before the onset of stress situations and then getting it out of the field before bad weather begins in mid-to-late October," he says.
source : cottonfarming
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