
Device Makes Quick Work of Cotton Cleanup ChoreBy Marcia Wood January
9, 1998A new device creates big savings of energy and time by simplifying a tedious
but crucial cotton field chore called the "plowdown." After harvesting cotton's fluffy white bolls, growers sever the roots and
plow the plants under. Otherwise, the plants re-grow the following year--just
when emerging pink bollworm moths are hunting for a home. The pests are among
cotton's worst enemies. Conventional plowdown equipment requires several steps to shred and bury the
2- to 6-foot- high cotton stalks. Scientists with the
Agricultural Research Service are
testing a tractor- mounted alternative. It neatly buries whole stalks,
compressing them into a continuous "rope" about 6 inches thick. The new device reduces tractor passes from seven to only one or two. The
result: an estimated 70 percent energy savings, according to ARS agricultural
engineer Lyle M. Carter. In addition, the device reduces soil compaction that
thwarts root growth and limits the plant's ability to absorb moisture and
nutrients. Carter is conducting the experiments at the ARS
Western Integrated Cropping Systems
Research Unit, Shafter, Calif. Tests by Carter and the device's
inventors--Gary W. Thacker of Pegasus Machinery Company, Tucson, Arizona, and
Wayne E. Coates of the University of Arizona--have shown cotton yields from
sites cleared with the device are equal to those of conventionally cleared
fields. The scientists are now confirming that their approach controls the pink
bollworm, and are ensuring that the tactic doesn't increase the incidence of
soil-borne diseases. The researchers also want to determine whether the method prolongs the
availability of organic material as food for beneficial, soil-dwelling
microorganisms. The helpful microorganisms enrich soils in cotton-growing
regions of the arid West. The hoped-for improvement in the microorganisms' food
supply could happen if buried stalks take longer to decompose than
conventionally shredded stalks. The ARS tests are being done under a three-year cooperative research and
development agreement with Pegasus. Scientific contact: Lyle M. Carter, USDA-ARS
Western Integrated Cropping Systems
Research Unit, 17053 Shafter Ave., Shafter, CA 93263, phone (805) 746-8004,
fax (805) 746-1619, [email protected]. Story contacts Marcia A Wood U.S. Department of Agriculture | |