In a three-year study, the major advantage of a zone
cotton production system with controlled traffic was
determined to be reduction in tractor operations for field
preparation and crop management without a reduction in
yield. The study indicates that tillage is required under any
surface where wheels are operated to return the soil to a
low impedance for root exploration and to a conductive
state for water infiltration. However, the soil managed with
a zone system, with no traffic or tillage after initialization,
was stable with lower soil impedance and higher water
infiltration than soil in tilled and trafficked plots. Adoption
of these findings will reduce unit production costs
