Investigating the effect from rain-fed cotton on grain production in northern farming systems – 2016/17

Abstract

Key findings •• No-till wheat (0.97 t/ha) produced the highest grain yield compared with the full cultivation and plant line cultivation wheat treatments (0.67 and 0.70 t/ha respectively). •• No-till chickpea (0.64 t/ha) yielded higher than the plant line cultivation chickpea (0.37 t/ha). •• No-till chickpea resulted in the highest gross margin of the double-cropped treatments ($131/ha). •• Wheat had a greater water use efficiency (WUE) than chickpea, and also had higher grain production. •• Cultivating (either plant line or full cultivation) after the dryland cotton crop decreased cotton volunteers and ratoons by >100 plants/ha (184 days after cotton harvest) compared with no-till treatments.