A comparative study of conventional and controlled traffic in irrigated cotton: II. Economic and physiological analysis
Article
Article Title | A comparative study of conventional and controlled traffic in irrigated cotton: II. Economic and physiological analysis |
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ERA Journal ID | 5270 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Bartimote, Timothy (Author), Quigley, Richard (Author), Bennett, John McL. (Author), Hall, Jake (Author), Brodrick, Rose (Author) and Tan, Daniel K. Y. (Author) |
Journal Title | Soil and Tillage Research |
Journal Citation | 168, pp. 133-142 |
Year | 2017 |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Place of Publication | Netherlands |
ISSN | 0167-1987 |
0933-3630 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2016.12.009 |
Web Address (URL) | https://ac.els-cdn.com/S0167198716302586/1-s2.0-S0167198716302586-main.pdf?_tid=c4d9e176-b222-11e7-99de-00000aab0f02&acdnat=1508124987_882102f761e6cc465af1618ed61e0c57 |
Abstract | Expanding the row spacing of cotton can improve water efficiency by enlarging the micro-catchment for water and reducing the number of plants per hectare, as well as facilitating controlled traffic conversion of heavy harvesting machinery. This work assesses the effects of 1.5 m row spacing on cotton yield, fibre quality and water use efficiency (WUE) in comparison to the traditional 1.0 m row spacing cotton system. A replicated, side-by-side, commercial scale experiment was instigated with a 1.5 m row spacing controlled traffic system compared against a 1.0 m row spacing standard cotton system. Cotton fibre characteristics, fruiting position and yield were measured along with system water use, in the context of machine traffic. A detailed analysis of soil resource impact is provided in the companion paper. The 1.5 m row spacing system was shown to perform better than the 1.0 m row spacing system in terms of WUE and machine traffic impact over the two cotton seasons and single wheat season. In the 1.5 m system cotton WUE was greater with higher gross margin, even though less cotton yield was harvested. The 1.5 m row spacing cotton matured more slowly, led to stronger and longer cotton fibres with overall better fibre quality. Increased gross margin potential of the 1.5 m system was shown to entirely offset the cost of controlled traffic conversion within 1 season for a field where heavy machinery had not been used extensively. |
Keywords | soil compaction; conservation farming; cotton row spacing |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 380101. Agricultural economics |
410605. Soil physics | |
300403. Agronomy | |
410404. Environmental management | |
300202. Agricultural land management | |
Public Notes | Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions. |
Byline Affiliations | University of Sydney |
National Centre for Engineering in Agriculture | |
Auscott, Australia | |
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia | |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q3vxz/a-comparative-study-of-conventional-and-controlled-traffic-in-irrigated-cotton-ii-economic-and-physiological-analysis
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