Rotations in Cotton Production for the Mississippi Delta 2000-2017

Research on rotations with cotton and grain crops have been underway in the Mid-South and Mississippi Delta since the 1990's.  This presentation will cover the early work with cotton following cotton vs cotton following corn at both the Delta Research and Extension Center and the Tribbett Satellite Farm at Tribbett, MS.  While the yield response with rotation has not always been positive, the average rotation response has been 8 to 17% (90 to 232 lb lint/acre.year depending upon the location (soil type) and averaged across nitrogen and potassium rates in the studies.  The Centennial Rotation was established in 2004 and includes various cotton/corn/soybean rotation systems compared to continuously grown cotton.  The project area includes 2-yr, 3-yr, and 4-yr rotations as well as continuous cotton with each crop in each system grown each year.  Cotton rotated with corn has resulted in a 22% (222 lb lint/acre/year) when compared to continuous cotton.  Over the years, cotton yields have fluctuated depending upon the season but even in years where continuous cotton yields are high, the yield of cotton following corn are even higher.  Nutrient uptake and removal are much higher when grain crops are added to a production system.  The annual and total nutrient removal will also be reported.