Protecting our soil resources is an important responsibility of those involved in crop production and land management. Our soils serve as the basic foundation upon which the entire cotton production system is developed. As we push every acre of land for higher yields, we squeeze more and more out of it. As national and global populations continue to increase, the demands being placed on the agricultural lands, including cotton fields and their soils in the U.S., will increase as well. Future generations will need a fully functional soil resource if they are to successfully supply society's need for food and fiber. It is up to us to pass on such a soil resource, hopefully in better condition than we found it. Our understanding and capabilities have improved a great deal in recent decades, our expectations have increased, and so have our incentives for sound land stewardship.

The development of a soil management plan can have both short- and long-term implications. In the short-term, the incentive is to be sure to provide both the best physical and chemical soil conditions possible for next year's crop of cotton plants. Reviewing field conditions from this past year can help identify potential problem fields or parts of fields in need of attention in the off-season. Making good use of a soil auger to check soil profile conditions concerning the presence of absence of any compacted or restrictive layers, and the general organization of soil textures throughout the crop rooting depth (about four feet) can be done in the off-season. Tillage operations and their timing can be very important in improving or maintaining soil tilth and physical conditions. Tillage operations should be avoided whenever soils are too wet, particularly in finer textured soils, that can lead to compaction and loss of soil structure, which is severely damaging to soil physical conditions.

Preparing fields to provide soil fertility levels sufficient to meet high yield and quality demands is the primary incentive for addressing a soil and fertilizer management plan each season. In a long-term sense, we don't want to deplete a soil's basic productive potential due to neglect and a gradual decline in the soil fertility level. The key objective agronomically, economically, and environmentally is to provide adequate - but not excessive levels - of any plant nutrient. The most reasonable and effective way to get this done is to avoid the guesswork and embark on a soil testing program. As was mentioned before, soils should probably be sampled at least once every few years, unless specific problems are noticed. A good lab, with a well-developed soil testing, interpretation, and recommendation program should be employed once the samples are collected. Most labs can provide advice and recommendations for many combinations of soil types and cropping systems, one year at a time and for a long-term approach as well.

Certain areas or regions in the cottonbelt have specific needs to be addressed in soil management. For example, in irrigated areas of the western cotton states, soil salinity and Na problems - both of which can affect crop water use, irrigation efficiencies, crop vigor, and management - are important to address. These also represent factors that may not pose a problem one year, but due to subtle yet increasing amounts of salt and/or Na, they may become limiting to the productivity of a cotton crop in a gradual yet devastating fashion. It is also important to consider the quality of the irrigation water that is being applied to the soil and the crop. The irrigation water not only is the lifeblood of the crop in these regions, but it can also be the source of both salt and sodium which can accumulate over time if not recognized and managed properly. The best approach is to monitor the system with both soil and water samples on a regular basis and to be capable of responding appropriately.

In some parts of the country a new approach to soil fertility management is being implemented as a part of precision agriculture with site-specific soil management. This involves a detailed soil sampling scheme in which samples are collected in a systematic fashion in relation to specific field coordinates. Field maps are then developed from the soil test results and the variability encountered in any given field is then accounted for and fertilizers are applied with equipment capable of adjusting rates in the field for specific spots. So instead of treating an entire field in a uniform fashion to address the average case, the soil needs are addressed in a site-specific fashion. This technology provides the opportunity to improve upon fertilization and soil management efficiency, accomplishing agronomic, economic, and environmental objectives simultaneously in the field. Some labs and fertilizer application facilities currently have this technology and it may soon become commonplace across the cottonbelt.

The future holds many potential opportunities and challenges for those of us involved in cotton production. To realize our potential, we need to take care of our soil resources upon which we and our cotton plants depend. We can have the finest varieties in the world, make use of all the plant-oriented technologies that are available, but it won't do us any good if our plants do not have a proper nutritional or soil foundation to grow upon. We can take our soils for granted, use them and abuse them, but that can catch up with us when we least expect it. It is a good time in the off-season to take a look at your soil management program, get out the soil probes, and spend a little time working with your lab to develop the program that is best for your farm and fields. The benefits can be found with your crop this next year and in your grandchildren's crops on the same fields in the years to come.