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Cotton · 2022 · Replicated field trial

Cotton Foliar Nutrition Programs

All three AgriTec programs finished above the untreated check, and the 15 gal/ac balanced split led the trial at 951 lb lint/ac, ahead of the heavier 18 gal/ac program on three gallons less product.

Agricenter International, Memphis TN

Agricenter International, Memphis TN · Download PDF ↓

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Top program

951

lb lint/ac · Balanced split

Untreated check

852

lb lint/ac

Difference

+98

lb lint/ac over the untreated check

Significance

P = 0.48

Treatment F-test

Result by treatment

Cotton · 2022

Balanced split Calcium 3 gal PRE · 15 gal/ac total product
951 +98
Late NPK Calcium 3 gal PRE · 15 gal/ac total product
938 +86
Front-loaded K Calcium 3 gal PRE · 18 gal/ac total product
904 +51
Untreated check No foliar nutrition
852
lb lint/ac LSD (P = .05) = 148 lb/ac The report gives no mean-separation letters for lint yield because the treatment effect was not significant (P(F) = 0.48).

How the trial was run

Site
Agricenter International, Memphis TN · Shelby County
Layout
Randomized complete block
Treatments × reps
4 × 4 = 16 plots
Variety
DP 1646B2FX
Planted
May 19, 2022 · 55,000 seeds/ac
Harvested
December 14, 2022
Soil
Falaya silt loam · pH 6.5 · 1.8% OM · CEC 7.8 meq/100g

Statistics

Treatment P(F)
0.48
LSD (P = .05)
148 lb/ac
CV
10.2%

The breakdown

What happened, measurement by measurement.

Every chart below is transcribed from the report you can open above. Green means the AgriTec program won the measure outright; grey means it came in statistically even, which on a quality measure is the result you want — the yield came without a give-back.

Seed cotton per plot

All three programs came in at or above the untreated check.

No penalty
Untreated check
9.19
Front-loaded K
9.56
Late NPK
9.9
Balanced split
10.06
lb LSD 1.32 · P(F) 0.48 · differences are not statistically significant

Lint turnout

Turnout held slightly ahead of the check.

No penalty
Untreated check
40.3
Treated programs
41
% Treated vs check · not significant

Fiber strength

No fiber-quality cost to the added nutrition.

No penalty
Lowest treatment
28
Highest treatment
28.4
g/tex P(F) 0.93 · not significant

Everything else that was measured

Including the measurements that did not move. A trial that only reports what improved isn't a trial.

Seed cotton per plot

9.19 / 9.56 / 10.06 / 9.90 lb

Treatments 1 to 4 · LSD 1.32 · P(F) 0.48

Lint turnout

41.0% vs 40.3%

Treated vs check · not significant

Micronaire

4.25 / 4.59 / 4.16 / 4.10

P = 0.07 · closest to significance · premium range 3.7 to 4.2

Staple length

1.173 to 1.185 in

P(F) 0.86 · not significant

Fiber strength

28.0 to 28.4 g/tex

P(F) 0.93 · not significant

What the report says

  • All three AgriTec programs finished above the untreated check in both seed cotton and lint yield.
  • Every program anchors on 3 gal/ac liquid calcium at planting, then varies how N-P-K is split between planting and pinhead square.
  • Treated plots ginned out roughly 0.7 points higher than the check, 41.0% against 40.3% lint turnout.
  • Micronaire was the measure closest to significance (P = 0.07). Treatments 3 and 4 landed in the 3.7 to 4.2 premium range.
  • Length, strength, elongation and uniformity all stayed within a tight band, so there was no fiber-grade cost.

Trial notes & scope

  • One site-year with four replications, at Agricenter International in 2022.
  • Lint-yield treatment P(F) was 0.48 against an LSD of 148 lb/ac. The three programs and the check are statistically comparable on yield, which is what makes the rate comparison the useful read: the lighter program held the same ground as the heavier one.
  • Micronaire came closest to separating at P = 0.07, with treatments 3 and 4 landing in the 3.7 to 4.2 premium range.
  • The check's recorded stand mean is inflated by an apparent data-entry artifact and is omitted from the report.

The full report

Read every page.

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