from Cotton Seed Distributors
Web on Wednesday

Trials at Auscott Midkin last season, aimed at maximising production from limited water situations, which are continuing this season, have produced some surprising results in terms of both yield and fibre quality.

Commenting on the weekly Web on Wednesday (7/1/04) video program on the Cotton Seed Distributors website, Auscott agronomist, Tim Richards, said experiments involving solid and skip row configurations, and various irrigations ranging from nil to six, had produced similar yields per ML of water.

As for fibre quality considerations, while zero irrigations resulted in “terrible” fibre quality, base grade was achievable by restricting excess growth through both water and pix management in both solid and skip row configurations.

“I would much rather be putting water on a skip row paddock than a solid paddock that had gone dry. The plant just seems to be able to hang on and not shed fruit as much during that stress period, and that allows you a bit more flexibility when the season is so uncertain about when and if you are going to get any water,” he said.

Tim Richards said Auscott had been trialing various Pix strategies over the past five years or so, as part of a water saving strategy.

“One year, we set up a crop, planted it late, pixed it very early, and cut water off at the end, and it did very well. After that result, we want to find out how early is too early for Pix.”

Trials last year involved the application of a cutout Pix as early as 150 fruit per M, and despite shorter plants and fewer nodes, yields were similar to controls crops pixed as late as 270 fruit per m.

“We certainly would not go out and Pix everything that early, but it’s definitely giving us confidence to go earlier, especially under these trial conditions, which were INGARD® and fallow, when you don’t have enough water to go through.”

He was more guarded in recommending this strategy in back-to-back crop situations, arguing that there is less room for error if plants are struggling and not bearing enough fruit.

“We look at pushing the crop just like we normally would, try to grow the best most vigorous crop, but keep the growth constrained with Pix early.”

He said there was no evidence that the various Pix treatments caused any concerns quality wise, with no difference in quality measured between treatments.