Effects of different cereal rye seeding rates, cotton planting rates, planter types and working speeds on no-till cotton

Authors: Kornecki, Ted; Kichler, Corey

Submitted to: Agriculture Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/25/2024
Publication Date: 12/3/2024
Citation: Kornecki, T.S., Kichler, C.M. 2024. Effects of different cereal rye seeding rates, cotton planting rates, planter types and working speeds on no-till cotton. Agriculture. 14(12):2207. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14122207.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14122207

Interpretive Summary: Cotton growers are looking for ways to reduce input cost while minimizing environmental impacts in response to low commodity prices. A no-till cotton field experiment was conducted in central Alabama during 2018-2020 growing seasons to assess benefits of cereal rye seeding rates, cotton planting rates, mechanical and electronic planter types working at two different speeds in a no-till system. Results show that there were no differences in biomass production between the low and high cereal rye seeding rates. Also, there were no differences in seed cotton yield between cotton planted with a mechanical-drive planter or electronic precision planter. Seed cotton yield varied between cotton seeding rates, with higher yield of 3,451 kg ha-1 at high cotton seeding rate. The cotton yield was not dependent on cover crop planting rate, planter type and planting speed, but were more influenced by weather patterns. Overall, cost savings for a no-till cotton system can be realized by reducing seedings rates for both cereal rye with no yield losses associated with either a mechanical or modern precision planter.

Technical Abstract: Cotton producers are interested in decreasing production costs, while maintaining cotton yields and preserving soil health by utilizing cover crops without tillage. A three-year no-till cotton field experiment was conducted in Shorter, Alabama, USA to evaluate effects of two cereal rye seeding rates, two cotton seeding rates, two planter types, and two working speeds for no-till cotton. The experiment was a split-plot design with three replicates and factorial treatment arrangement. Main plots were cereal rye cover crop planting rates of 50 and 101 kg ha-1. Submain plots contained two cotton planting rates (low and high) delivered by two planters (mechanical and electronic) at working speeds of 5.6 and 11.2 km h-1 randomly assigned to main plots as a 2x2x2 factorial arrangement. In each growing season cereal rye was terminated in April by using roller/crimper and supplemental application of glyphosate. Results indicate that cereal rye cover crop planting rates did not affect its biomass production. Emergence rate index (ERI) varied among years, between cereal rye planting rates and cotton seeding rates, and had significant interactions between planter type and speed with higher ERI (9.7 % day-1) for mechanical planter type at 5.6 km h-1 compared to lower ERI (9.05 % day-1) for the electronic planter type at 5.6 km h-1. Cotton population was proportional to cotton seeding rates generating 66,650 plants ha-1 at low and 114,178 plants ha-1 at high seeding rates. Seeding uniformity for cotton expressed by standard deviation (STD) of plant spacing differed between cotton seeding rates, with overall lower STD for electronic planter compared to mechanical planter, but better planting uniformity by the electronically controlled planter did not affect cotton production. Seed cotton yield varied between cotton seeding rates, with higher yield of 3,451 kg ha-1 at high cotton seeding rate. The cotton yield was not dependent on cover crop planting rate, planter type and planting speed, but differed among growing seasons. These differences were associated with different weather conditions generating lower yield of 1,844 kg ha-1 in 2019 compared to higher yields of 3,981 kg ha-1 in 2018 and 4,152 kg ha-1 in 2020.