PJB-2017-505
EFFECTS OF TILLAGE AND ROW SPACING ON COTTON YIELD AND QUALITY IN WHEAT BASED CROPPING SYSTEM
Dr. Niamatullah khan
Abstract
Cotton growers normally practice conventional tillage ((CT), disk plowing, cultivator, rotavator, and leveling) with 75 cm row spacing to avoid risks of poor plant stand and acquire higher yield. However, numerous tillage practices are not productive besides it has adverse effects on soil and crop in wheat-cotton system. Conservation tillage [zero tillage (ZT) or reduced tillage (RT)] with suitable row spacing can reduce production cost, increase cotton yield and quality, and it has favorable effects on soil properties. Field experiments were conducted on silty clay soil (Hyperthermic, and Typic Torrifluvents) of Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan to study the impact of tillage techniques (ZT, RT and CT) and row spacing (55, 65, 75, and 85 cm) on cotton yield and quality. Results revealed that RT produced higher bolls plant?1, boll weight, seed cotton yield, ginning out turn, fiber length, strength and fibe fineness than ZT and CT. Mean boll weight, seed cotton yield and fiber characteristics were optimum at 65 cm spacing. Tillage � row spacing interactions showed optimum boll weight, GOT and fiber fineness with 55�65 cm row spacing under RT. Higher seed cotton yield was observed with 65 cm spacing under conservation tillage. RT with 65 cm row spacing may be an alternative to CT for higher cotton yield and quality as well as environmentally safe.
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