Cotton Grown with an Integrated Production System

ABSTRACT THE economic, environmental, entomological, agronomic and energy use characteristics of narrow-row, short-season cotton grown under an integrated production system were evaluated. This cotton production system reduced energy use per hectare from 8,956,205 kcal to 6,042,651 kcal, or a savings of 33 percent. More dramatically, energy required per kg of lint declined from 15,981 to 7,049 kcal, saving 56 percent. This production technique also re-quired 27 percent fewer kilograms of active ingredients from insecticides and herbicides. Economic evaluation indicated a potential savings in costs per kg of lint of 43 percent, from $1.04 per kg production cost under the typical Frio County production technique to $0,593 per kg using the narrow-row, short-season pest man-agement technique. Overall, it appears that this new production system is in harmony with environmental and energy use goals, while also being very attractive to the individual producer. Producer accep-tance of the new integrated produc-tion system is most encouraging as it is used on an increasingly larger num-ber of acres each year.