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A Case Study For Variable-rate Seeding Of Corn And Cotton In The Tennessee Valley Of Alabama
1T. Macy, 2S. H. Norwood, 3J. P. Fulton, 2A. T. Winstead, 3J. N. Shaw, 3D. Rodekohr, 3C. J. Brodbeck
1. MapShots, Inc.
2. Alabama Cooperative Extension System
3. Auburn University

 

 

 

Farmers have recently become more interested in implementing variable-rate seeding of corn and cotton in Alabama due to increasing seed costs and the potential to maximize yields site-specifically due to inherent field variability.  Therefore, an on-farm case study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of variable-rate seeding for a corn and cotton rotation.  A randomized complete block design with four seeding rates randomly assigned to each block and replicated four times was utilized for this study.  Irrigated and dryland locations were selected for both crops. Cotton seeding rates were the same for dryland and irrigated sites; corn seeding rates were higher at the irrigated locations. Plant population data was collected early season while crop yield was measured using yield monitors. Management zones were generated for each field using various terrain attributes, soil EC, and soil survey data to determine if these parameters could be used as a basis for development of seeding prescription maps.  Preliminary results indicated that irrigated cotton yields were significantly different between the treatments for two of the three years. There were no statistical differences in the non-irrigated cotton yields. For corn, the higher seeding rate for both irrigated and dryland generated the highest yields.  Initial results from the spatial analyses indicates that terrain and soil type impact yield with the optimal seeding rate varying between developed management zones.  Final analyses will determine if variable-rate seeding of corn and cotton is feasible.

Keyword: variable-rate seeding, management zones, prescription maps