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Title: HIGH RESIDUE CONSERVATION TILLAGE SYSTEM FOR COTTON PRODUCTION: A FARMER'S PERSPECTIVE

Author
item Torbert, Henry - Allen
item INGRAM, JOHN - JOHN INGRAM & SONS
item INGRAM, JOHN - JOHN INGRAM & SONS
item INGRAM, ROBERT - JOHN INGRAM & SONS

Submitted to: Southern Conservation Tillage for Sustainable Agriculture Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/24/2002
Publication Date: 6/24/2002
Citation: Torbert, H.A., J.T. Ingram, J.T. Ingram Jr. and R. Ingram. 2002. High residue conservation tillage system for cotton production: a farmers perspective p. 36. In E. van Santen (ed.) Proceedings of the 25th Annual Southern Conservation Tillage Conference for Sustainable Agriculture. Auburn, Alabama. June 24-26.

Interpretive Summary: High residue conservation tillage systems for cotton production have been proposed as having the potential to be both economically and environmentally sustainable, and research regarding tillage systems has indicated that several advantages may exist for conservation tillage systems compared to conventional tillage systems. However, adoption of new farming systems on a regional scale is difficult unless an individual farmer is willing to take the personal risk and demonstrate the sustainability of the new system on a farm. The John T. Ingram and Sons farm is an example that in 1984 adopted a high residue conservation tillage system. Located on the Coastal Plain soils of Alabama, this farm has been successfully operating as a high residue conservation tillage system from that time to the present, and has served as an example for other farmers in the region. The publication describes the system presently used on the John T. Ingram and Sons farm and presents their perspective and observations.

Technical Abstract: High residue conservation tillage systems for cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) production have been proposed as having the potential to be both economically and environmentally sustainable, and research regarding tillage systems has indicated that several advantages may exist for conservation tillage systems compared to conventional tillage systems. The manuscript is a description of the farming system used on the John T. Ingram and Sons farm for high residue farming on the Coastal Plain soils of Alabama. This description includes the tillage system, cover crop residue, the weed control system, and the soil fertility practices utilized in the cropping system. The manuscript also includes observation by the farmer and a literature review pertinent to these observations.