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Title: TILLAGE EFFECTS ON COTTON AND FLAX

Author
item Foulk, Jonn
item Bauer, Philip
item Akin, Danny
item Busscher, Warren
item Camp Jr, Carl
item Ayala Silva, Tomas
item DODD, ROY - CLEMSON UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Annual Southern Conservation Tillage Conference for Sustainable Agriculture
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/3/2005
Publication Date: 6/27/2005
Citation: Foulk, J.A., Bauer, P.J., Akin, D.E., Busscher, W.J., Camp Jr, C.R., Ayala Silva, T., Dodd, R. 2005. Tillage effects on cotton and flax. Annual Southern Conservation Tillage Conference for Sustainable Agriculture, The Science of Conservation Tillage -- Continuing the Discoveries. Clemson University, Pee Dee Research and Education Center, Florence, SC, June 27-29, 2005. p.131-139.

Interpretive Summary: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON AND FLAX IN CONSECUTIVE HARVESTS UNDER VARIOUS TILLAGE AND SUBSOILING TECHNIQUES. FURTHER, YEILDS AND PROPERTIES OF COTTON AND WINTER FLAX FIBERS UNDER SOUTH CAROLINA CONDITIONS WERE DETERMINED FOR THE VARIOUS TILLAGE TECHNIQUES. AS EXPECTED, SUBSOILING INCREASED THE COTTON AND FLAX YIELD RESPONSE WHICH IS SIMILAR TO FINDINGS FOR OTHER CROPS. IN THIS STUDY, COTTON YIELDS WERE NOT INFLUENCED BY TILLAGE TREATMENT WHILE FLAX DRY PLANT MATTER YIELDS FOR DISK TREATMENT WERE SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER THAN NO TILL TREATMENTS. COTTON FIBER PROPERTIES ARE SUCH THAT CONSERVATION SYSTEMS APPEAR TO BE A VIABLE OPTION FOR GROWERS DUE TO FIBER PROPERTY IMPROVEMENTS. FIBER FLAX YIELD AND FIBER PROPERTIES INDICATE ADDITIONAL FIELD PREPARATION MAY BE REQUIRED TO PRODUCE INCREASED YIELDS WITH IMPROVED FIBER PROPERTIES.

Technical Abstract: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE IF VARIOSU TILLAGE AND SUB-SOILING TECHNIQUES WERE DETRIMENTAL OR BENEFICIAL TO WINTER FLAX (LINUM USITATISSIMUM L.)YIELDS UNDER SOUTH CAROLINA CONDITIONS. FLAX WAS DOUBLE-CROPPED WITH COTTON. SUBSOILING INCREASED THE COTTON AND FLAX YIELD WHICH IS SIMILAR TO FINDINGS FOR OTHER CROPS ON SOUTHEASTERN USA COASTAL PLAIN SOILS. COTTON YIELDS WERE NOT INFLUENCED BY TILLAGE TREATMENT WHILE FLAX DRY PLANT MATTER YIELDS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER FOR CHISEL AND DISK TREATMENTS THAN FOR NO TILLAGE. FOR THE FIBER PROPERTIES STUDIED, MICRONAIRE, FIBER LENGTH, AND FIBER LENGTH UNIFORMITY OF COTTON ALONG WITH FLAX FIBER STRENGTH WERE IMPACTED BY THE TILLAGE MANAGEMENT STUDIED. COTTON FIBER PROPERTIES ARE SUCH THAT CONSERVATION SYSTEMS APPEAR TO BE A VIABLE OPTION FOR GROWERS DUE TO FIBER PROPERTY IMPROVEMENTS. FIBER FLAX YIELD AND FIBER PROPERTIES INDICATE ADDITIONAL FIELD PREPARATION MAY BE REQUIRED TO PRODUCE INCREASED YIELDS WITH IMPROVED FIBER PROPERTIES. OUR RESULTS INDICATE THAT CONSERVATION TILLAGE PRACTICES CAN BE BENEFICIAL FOR COTTON PRODUCTION UNDER FLORENCE, SC GROWING CONDITIONS BUT ADDITIONAL RESEARCH ON IMPROVED TECHNIQUES IS NEEDED FOR THE PRODUCTION OF FIBER FLAX WITH THIS MANAGEMENT PRACTICE.