08/29/2000

Tours Give Farmers Overview of Cotton, Peanut Research Experiments

HEADLAND, Ala.—More than 100 southeast Alabama peanut and cotton farmers, their moods subdued by the grim outlook for this year's drought-stricken crops, attended a Field Crops Field Day at the Wiregrass Research and Experiment Center in Headland in late August to hear about several research projects they hope will help make for better crop years ahead.

Research in areas ranging from potential new peanut varieties to high-tech weed management to alternative cotton irrigation systems was among that featured on the field day's two tours.

Of strong interest to peanut producers was a project evaluating possible replacements for the widely grown Georgia Green variety. Although Georgia Green has proved itself in Alabama fields, it is not a favorite of the industry.

"When Georgia Green peanuts are blanched, the halves have a tendency to crack and break into fragments," said Dallas Hartzog, Extension agronomist/peanuts and Auburn University agronomy and soils professor. "They don't split uniformly, and that's a big negative in an industry that demands uniformity."

Producers, too, would prefer a variety that produces a larger vine than Georgia Green because that would help shade the ground and keep it cooler throughout the growing season, Hartzog said.

Experiment center researchers are conducting trials on four of the most promising varieties on the market -- C-99R, AgraTech 201, AgraTech 1-1 and Virugard -- but results thus far indicate that none match Georgia Green's performance in Alabama.

"These won't take Georgia Green's place," Hartzog said. "We're still not there, but we'll keep trying."

Peanut growers also learned about a computer-driven weed management program that soon will be available as a production tool. With the Herbicide Application Decision Support Systems (HADSS), a producer can input crop information, the weather conditions and the types, numbers and sizes of weeds present in a field, and the computer program will respond by listing the farmer's treatment options, based on net return.

Currently, researchers are tailoring the program to Alabama and are testing to determine how the recommendations from HADSS stack up against experts' recommendations, in terms of costs and effectiveness.

Cotton research projects featured in the half-day of tours included one investigating the impact that row spacing, planting dates and seeding rates have on yields. The research to date indicates that twin-row spacing poses no more production or harvesting problems, than single-row cotton, and the closer spacing of plants means more cotton bolls per acre.

The jury's still out, meanwhile, on whether a subsurface drip irrigation system that is used in many Texas cotton fields would be cost-effective for Alabama growers. Larry Curtis, Extension specialist and AU professor of Biosystems Engineering, said installation of the system is time- and labor-intensive because it involves burying a network of plastic tubing 15 inches below the soil surface.

In tests last year, plots irrigated and fertilized with the underground system yielded about 800 pounds of lint per acre, double the yields in non-irrigated fields. However, Curtis said growers would need yields of 2.5 bales per acre to realize a return on their investment in such a system.

With the growth of the poultry industry in the Wiregrass region, researchers are studying the effectiveness of broiler litter as an economical fertilizer for cotton. Field trials at the Wiregrass center indicate that broiler litter, when applied on conventional- or strip-tilled cotton, provides yields comparable to commercial fertilizers at similar rates per acre. The litter also offers positive residual effects from one year to the next.

Currently on the Wiregrass Research and Experiment Center's 600 acres, 110 research projects are under way. While the areas of research range from sod trials to pumpkin production to alternative livestock feeds, the majority of the projects involve peanuts and cotton, the region's two chief row crops. The Center's overall goal: to improve the farmer's bottom line.

"Everything we do is aimed toward looking at any avenue that will help you get the highest possible yield per acre," Alabama Cooperative Extension System agronomist and cotton researcher William Birdsong told the field day crowd.

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News from:

Office of Ag Communications & Marketing

Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)

Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu

08/29/00