Modeling Irrigation Requirements of Cotton Using Cotton 2K

Cotton is a drought tolerant crop. However, severe water stress could result in devastating impact on cotton yield and fiber quality. Objective of this study was to optimize irrigation requirements of cotton for higher yield and improved water use efficiency (WUE) in the Texas Rolling Plains region. A field study was conducted at the Chillicothe Research Station in Chillicothe, TX from 2012 to 2015. Treatments included four irrigation levels, two tillage systems, and four cotton cultivars. Data from this field study were used for calibrating and evaluating a crop growth model called Cotton2K. Calibrated Cotton2K model was used to determine the impact of various irrigation scheduling strategies on cotton lint yield, WUE, and economic returns using 31-yrs of historical weather dataset of the Texas Rolling Plains region. The results of this study will be discussed in this presentation.