Agronomic and Economic Results From a Three-Year Cotton Seeding Rate Field-Scale Experiments in Arkansas

Commercialization of spatial technologies along with dramatic shifts in seed prices has renewed farmers’ interest in site-specific cotton seeding rates.  Technologies such as variable rate planters enable farmers to plant cotton seed at varying  rates within fields; however the question of the ‘appropriate seeding rate’ for each given location was unknown. To determine cotton yield response to seeding rate on different soils, a field-scale on-farm experiment protocol was developed and carried out in collaboration with three Arkansas cotton farmers from 2009 to 2011, with one Mississippi farmer in 2011.  Site specific data including yield monitor data and electrical conductivity data were assembled with treatment data and analyzed with the most advanced spatial econometric techniques to estimate the yield response curve. Based on the response curve, optimum seeding rates were determined by considering the price ratio between cotton lint and cotton seed. Agronomic and economic results are presented.