In a three-year study, the major advantage of a zone cotton production system with controlled traffic was determined to be reduction in tractor operations for field preparation and crop management without a reduction in yield. The study indicates that tillage is required under any surface where wheels are operated to return the soil to a low impedance for root exploration and to a conductive state for water infiltration. However, the soil managed with a zone system, with no traffic or tillage after initialization, was stable with lower soil impedance and higher water infiltration than soil in tilled and trafficked plots. Adoption of these findings will reduce unit production costs.

No abstract