Evaluation of Agronomic Inputs in Intensively Managed Upland Cotton.

As cotton production systems become more complex, an increasing number of untested management practices are being recommended to cotton producers in the United States.  The objectives of the study were to 1) evaluate various agronomic inputs on cotton development compared to current extension recommendations and 2) determine the yield gain from the addition of individual inputs applied to cotton compared to current extension recommendations. The study was conducted in Virginia, North Carolina, and Missouri as well as a location in Mississippi which had a single planting date. The inputs chosen were planting date, in-furrow fungicides, in-furrow insecticides, early season foliar fungicides, 150% soil fertility program, and foliar fertilization of potassium and nitrogen during the bloom period. The study was conducted as a split-plot design with two planting dates as the whole plots and six agronomic inputs as the sub-plots. Current extension recommendations were implemented as sub-plot treatment within each planting date. The final sub-plot treatment was a combination of all agronomic inputs into a “Kitchen Sink” cotton management program. Plant population, thrips injury ratings, and plant heights were measured to determine the impact of early season inputs on establishment and early season vigor. Thrips injury was rated on a 0 to 5 scale, with 5 being severe damage/death and 0 being no visible damage. Foliar diseases were rated mid- to full bloom for disease incidence and organisms present. At the Virginia location, plant populations did not differ among agronomic inputs for either planting date. When imidacloprid (insecticide) was applied as Admire^® Pro at 672 ml per hectacre in-furrow, thrips injury was significantly reduced from 1.02-1.38 to 0.31-0.50 in Virginia. No differences in plant heights were detected among the various agronomic input within planting dates at the Virginia location. Foliar diseases present included Cercospora, Alternaria, and Stemphylium. No yield data has been collected for any participating location at this time.