Evaluation of an Acid Soil Conditioner in an Irrigated Cotton Production System

Abstract

A single field study was conducted on a sodium-affected soil at the University of Arizona’s Maricopa Agricultural Center (MAC) in 1998. NuCotn 33B was dry planted and watered-up on 5 May 1998. Two treatments were evaluated; treatment 1 received no acid and treatment 2 received water-run acid applications. The acid used in this evaluation was sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄). The acid was applied at approximately 11 gallons acid/acre at each scheduled irrigation throughout the entire growing season. All other agronomic inputs and decisions were uniformly applied to both treatments in the same manner throughout the season. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design with two treatments and six replications. Significant differences were found among the two treatments in terms of plant growth and soil water content (P<0.05). Lint yields were significantly different (P=0.0013) with the check having the highest yield.