PrintThe cotton industry in the western U.S. faces a wide range of issues affecting profitability. , with cotton prices and futures, and production information on planting, fertilizing, and harvesting your cotton crop.
Crop rotation, including winter cover crops, is getting more attention lately, says Oklahoma State University State Extension Cotton Program Leader Randy Boman, who spoke at the West Texas Agricultural Chemical Institute (WTACI) annual conference at Lubbock recently. Rotation may provide benefits for cotton producers, he said, but it involves a few challenges as well.
No-till production, and no-till with a cover crop, can offer good options for cotton producers, he says. “However, in our area, water use is always a concern with a cover crop.” He cautions producers that planting into terminated cover crops or high sorghum residue may require more nitrogen — 20 pounds to 30 pounds per acre more.
A grain sorghum and cotton rotation has proven beneficial to cotton, Boman says.
“Calvin Trostle, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension agronomist, also notes that research in the High Plains has measured a range in individual years of negative 5 percent to plus 21 percent advantage to cotton from a grain sorghum rotation,” he added.
