J. C. Silvertooth
Agronomist Cotton

and

E. R. Norton
Research Specialist

Cooperative Extension
College of Agriculture

Cotton production in the desert southwest is commonly characterized by high input production practices resulting in high yields. Some of the critical inputs involved in this intensive production scenario include water, pest control, fertilizer nitrogen (N), and plant growth regulators. Since cotton is very responsive to crop inputs, such as water and fertilizer N, management of these inputs is critical to achieve not only maximum agronomic but also economic yield. Producers need to critically evaluate crop inputs and be relatively certain that a specific input is actually having a positive effect on the crop.

One method that has been proposed which can lead to more efficient management of inputs is the use of a ‘feedback’ approach to input management. This is contrasted by a ‘scheduled’ approach, which commonly involves the scheduling of inputs based upon a calendar or days after planting. The ‘feedback’ approach to input management employs crop monitoring techniques in order to evaluate the past and current status of the crop. The resultant information can then be used to make informed management decisions.

There are three important aspects that need to be addressed in order to be able to use crop monitoring in an efficient manner. The first is data collection. Data collection must be made in a uniform and consistent manner among all management units and years if the objective is to develop long-term trends for a given farm. The second aspect is the management of collected data. Collection of crop monitoring data or plant mapping data is of little value if it cannot be summarized in a form that is useful and relatively easy to interpret. The third (and probably the most important of the three) involves the interpretation of the data and utilizing the information in management decisions. The overall objective of this effort would be to increase the efficiency of the production system.

In an effort to address point number two, management and summary of collected cotton crop monitoring data, a simple software program has been developed (UA – Cotton Monitoring System, UA-CMS) that can be used to manage and summarize data collected from a cotton crop over the season. The software, developed using Microsoft Excel, provides a simple tool to summarize cotton crop monitoring data. All crop monitoring data is summarized on one 8.5"x11" sheet to aid in the day to day management of the crop. The software does not provide any recommendations regarding management. The UA-CMS is described in Part I of this document.

Part II of this document addresses basic aspects of plant monitoring techniques and the use of the information in relation to crop management.

You may download a copy of the Excel spreadsheet by clicking on this link UA_CMS.xls and selecting the option to save a copy on your local computer. This spreadsheet will work with Microsoft Excel 7.0 (version of Excel included in Office 95) or greater. This file is 623 kbytes in size.

The system consists of several pages, each of which allows for the input of different crop monitoring/input data (Figure 1). These pages include:

Home Page (Figure 2): will appear first upon opening the software. From this location, all other sheets for data entry and update can be accessed by clicking on the appropriate button.

General information page (Figure 3): allows for the input of field identifiers, variety, planting date, plant population, and acres.

Plant mapping data entry page (Figure 4): allows for the input of plant mapping data collected for a given date. This page has the capacity for the entry of 15 individual dates of sampling over the season. In order to calculate percent fruit retention estimates (FR) and height (inches) to node ratios (HNR) all plant mapping data must be entered. This data includes plant height, first fruiting branch, number of mainstem nodes, number of aborted or missing sites for first positions (pre-bloom), and first two positions (post first-bloom), and nodes above top white flower (NAWF). The data entry sheet is set-up to handle a sample of five plants per sample date, however, the software will continue to function properly if data is entered for less than five plants.

Irrigation information page (Figure 5): allows for the input of irrigation event information including; start date, stop date, and total amount of water applied to the field (acre-ft.). Amount of water applied (acre-in.) per acre is calculated. This page has the capacity for 15 irrigation events across the season.

Fertilizer N information page (Figure 6): allows for the input of fertilizer N information including; date of application, form of fertilizer used, rate of fertilizer used, and rate of actual N applied to field.

Petiole NO₃ ^--N analysis information page (Figure 7): allows for the input of petiole analysis (ppm NO₃ ^–N).

PIX/PGR information page (Figure 8): allows for the input of information regarding PIX or other PGR applications including application date, products used, and rate applied.

Summary Sheet (Figure 9): contains the summarized data entered into the previous sheets within the software and can be printed by clicking on the ‘Print Summary Sheet’ button located on the home page.

All of the information entered into the preceding pages is then summarized on the summary sheet, which can be printed out (Figure 10). All plant mapping information i.e., fruit retention estimates (FR), height to node ratios (HNR), petiole NO₃^--N values, and nodes above white flower (NAWF) estimates are plotted on graphs that contain long-term baselines developed for Arizona cotton. All of the plant mapping data is plotted as a function of heat units (86/55°F thresholds) accumulated after planting (HUAP). All other information i.e., irrigation events, fertilizer N events, PIX/PGR events are all tabulated on the summary sheet with running totals. Irrigation, fertilization, and PIX/PGR events are identified on the FR and HNR graphs with markers so as to track these events along with plant mapping trends.

Heat Units

Heat unit accumulation data is required by the software in order to plot plant growth and development indices such as FR, HNR, petiole NO₃^--N concentrations, and NAWF. This data can be obtained from University of Arizona Cotton Advisory Updates. These are provided on a weekly basis during the growing season and can be accessed on the AZMET web site (http://ag.arizona.edu/azmet). An example of an advisory is found in Figure 10. Heat units accumulated after planting are commonly given for five representative planting dates for a particular area. An estimated HUAP can be obtained by selecting the closest planting date to the field in question and then estimating the HUAP for the sample date in question. Exact HUAP values can be determined by accessing appropriate dates and weather station sites on the AZMET web site. This number can then be entered directly into the software.

Loading the Software

The software is contained in an Excel file.

1. Copy the file UA_CMS.xls (template – read-only file) to the subdirectory on the hard drive where you wish to store your crop monitoring data.
2. Start Microsoft Excel.
3. Select File    Open
4. Select the directory where the file UA_CMS.xls was copied.
5. Open the file UA_CMS.xls
6. Once the file is open the ‘Home’ screen will appear (Figure 2). By clicking on the ‘Update General Records’ button you can begin to initialize that file for a given field by entering the appropriate data (Figure 3).
7. Once this is done you can save that file with a unique file name for the given field by selecting File    Save As
8. Enter a unique file name for that given field (i.e. FLD_28A) then click on ‘Save’. A separate and unique file must be established for each individual field you wish to monitor. This can be done by repeating steps 2-8 above.

Each time you wish to add/edit data for a given field you may perform the following steps:

1. Open Microsoft Excel
2. Select File    Open
3. Select the subdirectory where the previously created files are stored and select the appropriate file for editing
4. Open the file
5. Edit and update as desired
6. Select File    Save

In order to update the data on the summary sheet you must click on the ‘Update Summary Sheet’ button found on the home page.

Data Entry

The software is set up so that data can only be entered in the appropriate cells. If you attempt to enter data into a cell that is not a data entry cell you will receive a message indicating that the cell you have selected is locked. Data can be entered by selecting the appropriate cell with the mouse or using the arrow keys to move the cursor to the appropriate cell. Type the appropriate data and hit the ‘Enter’ or ‘Tab’ key. Caution must be taken when entering data. There are no safeguards in the system to prevent entry of incorrect data. For example; if a person accidentally enters the number 27 for first fruiting branch, the software will not alert the user to the fact that the number 27 for a first fruiting branch measurement is not possible. You should always review the data entered prior to making decisions based upon output by the system.

Hardware Requirements

Basic requirements for the software include; a computer (at least a 486, preferably Pentium based) that is capable of operating Microsoft Excel 7.0 (version of Excel included in Office 95) or greater.

Figure 1. Flow chart depicting the organization of the software system.

Figure 2. Home page. This should be the first screen that appears upon opening the file.

1. Link to page where general field information is entered and edited (Figure 3).
2. Link to page where irrigation records are entered and updated (Figure 5).
3. Link to page where petiole NO₃^--N results are entered and updated (Figure 6).
4. Link to view updated summary sheet. (Figure 9).
5. Link to page where all plant mapping data is entered and updated (Figure 4).
6. Link to page where fertilizer N records are entered and updated (Figure 7).
7. Link to page where PIX^TM/PGR records are entered and updated (Figure 8).
8. Link to update summary sheet including all graphs and figures.
9. Link to print summary sheet.

Figure 3. General information page where data is entered for field identification.

Text entry cell. Enter account for which this field pertains.
 
Text entry cell. Enter Grower for which this field pertains.
 
Text entry cell. Enter the Ranch identifier for which this field pertains.
 
Text entry cell. Enter field identifier.
 
Text entry cell. Enter variety for this field.
 
Text entry cell (date format - mm/dd). Enter planting date for this field.
 
Text entry cell. Enter approximate plant population for this field.
 
Numeric entry cell. Enter acreage for this field. This number will be used in calculations to determine irrigation amounts.
 
Text entry cell. Enter the season/year for this field

Figure 4. Plant measurement data page where plant measurement data is entered.

Text entry cell (date format - mm/dd) Enter date for which plant mapping sample was taken.
 
Numeric entry cell. Enter heat units accumulated after planting for which plant mapping sample was taken (data can be obtained from UA cotton advisories see Figure 1).
 
Numeric entry cell (either 0 or 1). This cell will determine how fruit retention estimates are calculated. By entering a 0 the program will calculate fruit retention based upon the first fruiting position on each fruiting branch. Entering a 1 will have the program calculate fruit retention based upon the first two sites on each fruiting branch. UA cotton agronomy recommendations are to map first position fruit on each fruiting branch prior to first bloom. Post first bloom is done by mapping the first two positions on each fruiting branch.
 
Numeric entry cells. Enter the five plant height measurements (inches) for this sample date.
 
Numeric entry cells. Enter the five first fruiting branch measurements for this sample date.
 
Numeric entry cells. Enter the five mainstem node number measurements for this sample date.
 
Numeric entry cells. Enter the five aborted and missing site measurements for this sample date.
 
Numeric entry cells. Enter the five Nodes Above top White first position Bloom measurements for this sample date (post first bloom only).

Figure 5. Irrigation information page where data is entered for irrigation events.

Numeric entry cell. Enter heat units accumulated since planting (HUAP) for this irrigation event. This data is used to plot the irrigation event on the fruit retention graph (data can be obtained from cotton advisories see Figure 1).
 
Text entry cell (date format - mm/dd) Enter date for which irrigation event began.
 
Text entry cell (date format - mm/dd) Enter date for which irrigation event ended.
 
No data entry - calculation cell. This cell calculates the irrigation interval between the current and the one event previous.
 
Numeric entry cells. Enter the amount of irrigation water applied (acre-feet).
 
No data entry - calculation cell. This cell calculates the amount of water applied in acre-inches.

Figure 6. Petiole information page where petiole analysis (ppm NO₃^-- N) is entered.

Text entry cell (date format - mm/dd) Enter date for which petiole sample was taken.
 
Numeric entry cell. Enter heat units accumulated since planting (HUAP) for the date this petiole sample was collected (data can be obtained from cotton advisories see Figure 1).
 
Numeric entry cell. Enter value for petiole NO₃^--N analysis.

Figure 7. Nitrogen fertilizer information page where data is entered for N fertilization events.

Numeric entry cell. Enter heat units accumulated since planting for this fertilization event. This data is used to plot the fertilization event on the fruit retention graph (data can be obtained from cotton advisories see Figure 1).
 
Text entry cell (date format - mm/dd) Enter date for which fertilization event occured.
 
Text entry cell. Entry the form of fertilizer N used.
 
Numeric entry cell. Enter the rate at which fertilizer was applied (lbs. material/acre).
 
Numeric entry cell. Enter the rate at which fertilizer N was applied (lbs. N/acre).

Figure 8. PIX/PGR information page where data is entered for PIX/PGR events.

Numeric entry cell. Enter heat units accumulated since planting (HUAP) for this PIX/PGR event. This data is used to plot the PIX/PGR event on the height to node ratio graph (data can be obtained from cotton advisories see Figure 1).
 
Text entry cell (date format - mm/dd) Enter date for which PIX/PGR event occured.
 
Text entry cell. Enter the product used for this event.
 
Text entry cell. Enter the rate at which PIX/PGR was applied.

Figure 9. Sample summary sheet.

Figure 10. Example of UA cotton advisory for Pinal County for the week of 15 June 1997.

Listing of Cotton Management Bulletins

1. General Maturity Groups for Cotton Varieties
2. Planting Date Management
3. Plant Population Evaluation/Management for Cotton
4. Soil Fertility and Soil Testing Guidelines for Arizona Cotton
5. Saline and Sodic Soil Identification and Management for Cotton
6. Early Season Crop Management
7. Early Cotton Development
8. Timing the First Post-Plant Irrigation
9. Determining the Mainstem Node Number for Cotton
10. Following Cotton Development Over the Fruiting Cycle
11. Estimating the Vegetative/Reproductive Balance in Cotton Growth
12. Estimating Fruit Retention
13. Estimating Fruit Retention - Procedure
14. Height to Node Ratio - Procedure
15. Nitrogen Management for Cotton
16. Feedback Requirements for Nitrogen Management
17. PIX^TM Application Guidelines for Arizona Cotton
18. Deciding on the Final Irrigation
19. Crop Management for Defoliation
20. Water Management for Defoliation
21. Crop Management for Optimum Fiber Quality and Yield

This document located at http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/crops/az1049/
Return to publication listing
Return to Cotton site