Abstract:
Poor crop establishment compromises productivity and may necessitate the expense of replanting.This project has demonstrated that thin biodegradable film may have a place in the cotton production system; soil temperature is elevated and seedbed moisture is conserved, which results in earlier and uniform emergence compared with bare soil under the same conditions. A limitation to this point has been timely access to thin film to enable an early planting date and the inability of emerging cotton to penetrate the thin film. After discussion with one manufacturer agreement has been reached to slot the film over the plant line which should allow the crop to emerge. This concept has yet to be tested; field trials will be conducted in central Queensland during the 2013/2014 season. Further planting date experiments are planned for southern NSW and at ACRI using slotted film to determine whether the perceived benefit of using thin film is real and whether or not early planted cotton will survive subsequent cold shock or frost.
In cool regions, production can be limited by the need to replant due to prolonged cold conditions. New biodegradable thin films provide an opportunity to overcome this limitation without the risk of contaminating lint at harvest. The concept is to plant cotton and apply film in one pass, with the film degrading as cotton emerges so the crop grows as if planted with no film. Preliminary results suggest the films enhance early establishment however, the film used did not breakdown as expected. Pilot studies undertaken in the Namoi Valley have demonstrated that thin film promoted early and uniform crop emergence by increasing soil temperature and retaining seedbed moisture compared to bare soil. Following emergence cotton was not able to penetrate the film due to excessive temperatures under the film, therefore crop growth and yield benefits have not been determined.
