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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Auburn, Alabama » Soil Dynamics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #141081
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 Prior, Stephen - Steve

Submitted to: European Agrophysical Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/28/2015
Publication Date: 1/30/2015
Citation: Torbert III, H.A., Ingram, J.T., Prior, S.A. 2015. High residue conservation tillage system for cotton production: a farmer's perspective. European Agrophysical Journal. 2(1):1-14.

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. 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.

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. 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 following describes the system presently used on the John T. Ingram and Sons farm, and presents their perspective and observations.