Lower Limits of Cotton Seeding Rates in Alternative Row Widths and Patterns

Cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L.) producers are motivated to reduce seeding rates by the high cost of seed and gene technology. A 3‐yr study was conducted in irrigated and nonirrigated fields at Milan, TN, using combinations of row width, planting pattern, and seeds m −1 row to produce seeding rates ranging from 3.6 to 21.5 m −2 The objective was to determine the lower limits of cotton seeding rates that maximize net return based on lint yield, fiber quality, and lint price in alternative planting systems. Weed suppression and crop maturity effects were also evaluated. Whether irrigated or nonirrigated, equivalent yields were achieved with seeding rates ≥10.8 m −2 that produced plant population densities ≥6.1 m −2 Yields were relatively stable above these thresholds with various combinations of row width, planting pattern, and seeds m −1 row. Seeding rate had little effect on price adjustments due to fiber quality, so net returns were driven primarily by lint yields and production costs. Irrigated cotton produced equivalently high net returns at seeding rates ≥7.2 m −2 , with any combination of row spacing, configuration, and number of seeds m −1 row. In nonirrigated conditions, net returns were maximized at seeding rates between 5.4 and 14.3 m −2 , except in solid planted 38‐cm rows. Planting in a 2 × 1 skiprow pattern generated savings of seed and technology costs, and of harvest labor and machinery costs, that shifted profit potential away from solid plantings. Producers may need specialized planting and harvesting equipment to maximize returns in ultra‐narrow rows or skiprow patterns.