ABSTRACT
Site-specific management or precision agriculture, as it is evolving in large-scale crop production, promises new methods for managing cotton production for optimized yields, maximized profitability, and minimized environmental pollution. However, adaptation of site-specific theory and methodology, which have been developed primarily for large-scale grain production, entails overcoming some serious obstacles related to regional production practices and crop valuation methods prevalent in U.S. cotton production. For example, when major cotton-producing counties in the U.S. Cotton Belt are grouped according to
1. genotypes grown, 2. planting dates, 3. growing-season lengths, 4. harvest methods, 5. quality of fiber produced, and 6. fiber end use,
five or six general regions become apparent: Coastal, Humid Southeast Upland, Delta, Texas High Plains, California/Arizona Desert, and Short-Season Border. Because of the genotypes grown, the region-related soil types and landforms, and the weather conditions that vary significantly among and within these regions, fiber properties and end use also differ greatly from region to region and within these generalized areas. Production practices also
Handbook of Precision Agriculture © 2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
