SOIL & WATER CONSERVATION PRACTICES IN ARKANSAS COTTON – INTERACTIONS WITH CULTURAL CONTROL TACTICS IN IPM

The objective in this 2017 experiment was to quantify the impact of tillage system and chemical control practices on performance of three cultivars that had been identified as having a range of HPR properties to tarnished plant bug and foliar diseases (Bourland et al., 2016). Cultivars were grown with and without foliar insecticide applications for tarnished plant bug in no-till, cover crop/ low till, and conventional tillage systems. This was the 9th consecutive year of the tillage system plots located on the Judd Hill Foundation Research Farm in Northeastern Arkansas. The field study was not irrigated, and soil water measures across tillage systems were made using Watermark sensors. We hypothesized that growing conditions associated with tillage system could impact plant resilience to stress including water deficit tolerance and/or susceptibility to insect pests. Data to be presented will include results from in-season pest, soil moisture, and plant monitoring as well as end-of-season plant mapping along with lint yield and fiber quality assessments.