Progress Report* Series No. 31 February 1947
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT 
STATION
of The Alabama Polytechnic 
Institute, Auburn, Ala.
* * * * * * M. J. Funchess, 
Director . . . . .
TIME of PLANTING COTTON in ALABAMA
Cotton planted a week to 10 days earlier than customary produces
higher yields than cotton planted later.
This conclusion is based on results from a number of years experi
ments with planting dates for cotton carried on at the Tennessee Valley
and Sand NM.ountain substations, and at the Aliceville Lafayette Monroe
ville, and Prattville experiment fields.
Acc:rding to results from these experiments most farmers could
increase their cotton yields by planting a week to 10 days earlier than
they usually do. On most soils cotton planting should be completed by or
The middle dates in these time-of-planting experiments are assumed to
be near the usual or customary cotton planting time of the areas in which
the tests are located. Planting earlier resulted in higher yields of seed
cotton than those from cotton planted at the usual time 
at five"'of the six
locations.
Late planted cotton sometimes produces fair to good yields. However
this is an exception rather than a rule For example the yield of cotton
planted at Aliceville on May 10 equalled that planted on Apiril 10 only
once in 9 years, In 2 of the 9 years the late-planted cotton produced
less than 10 per cent as much as the early. planted. At the Lafayette Field
late planted cotton produced equally as well as the early planted crop
only 2 out of 8 years, on the other hand in 2 other years 
the yield was
less than one half that of the early planted cotton Thus it may be seei
that the yields from late planting are not as dependable
*Formerly Mimeograph Series,
Time of. Planting Cotton in Alabama
LOCATION 
YEARS ! AVERAGE 
PLANTING AVERAGE YIELD 
SEED
IDATE COTTON PER ACRE
Pounds
Tennessee Valley Substation 1939-46* April 11 1,710
(Usual planting time, last 1939-46* April 27 1,689
week in April) 1939-46* May 14 1,38
Sand Mountain Substation 1939-42 April 16 1,992
(Usual planting time, last 1939-42 April 30 1,696
week in April) 1939-.42 May 13 1,597
Aliceville Field 1939-46 March 31 1,624
1938-46 April 10 1,658
(Usual planting time, last 19383-6 April 20 1,547
10 days of April) 1938-46- April 30 1,448
1938-46 May 10 1, 036
1938-46 May 20 745
Lafayette Field 1939-46 April 2 1,187
(Usual planting time, mid- 1939-46 
April 15 1,126
Apri) 1939-46 May I 887
Monroeville Field 1939-43 & 46** March 26 816
(Usual planting time, 1939-43 & 46** April 9 791
early April) 1939-43 & 46** April 28 522
Prattv il le Field 1939-46 . arch 27 1,193
(Usual planting'time, 1939-4 6 April 10 1,206
second week of April 1939-46 April 29 1,095
* Test incomplete in 1942, result
**No data in 1944 and 1945, test
omitted.
destroyed by hail both years.
1
Experiment conducted byH. R. Benford, F. E. Bertram, R( C. Christopher,
Richardson, and Fred Stewart of the Experiment Station staff.
S. E. Gissendanner, J. W.
Tests at Tennessee Valley, Sand Mountain, Monroeville, and Prattville planted and used in
cooperative planter tests by I. F. Reed, Division of Agricultural Engineering, :B.P.I.S. and E.,
U. S. D A.