Potential genotype-based climate change adaptation strategies for sustaining cotton production in the Texas High Plains: A simulation study

The Texas High Plains (THP) is a major cotton-producing region in the United States. Sustaining cotton production under declining groundwater availability in the underlying Ogallala Aquifer and changing climate remains a key challenge for stakeholders in this region. The objectives of this study were to assess climate change impacts on cotton yield and irrigation water use, and evaluate six ideotypes for adaptation. In this study, we used the DSSAT-CSM-CROPGRO-Cotton model for simulating cotton production under 18 projected future climate scenarios and with six potential adaptation ideotypes at Bushland, Halfway and Lamesa in the northern, central, and southern parts of the THP region, respectively. Seed cotton yield and irrigation water use between baseline (1976-2005) and future periods (mid-century:2036-2065 and late-century: 2066-2095) were compared. The irrigated seed cotton yield is expected to increase by 12-21 % at cooler northern sites, and decrease by 2% at the warmer southern site, in the mid-century compared to the baseline. For the same period, seasonal irrigation water use is expected to increase by 6-11 % and dryland seed cotton yield is expected to change by +6 % to -11 % across the locations. The increases in irrigated seed cotton yield were attributed to increased vegetative growth under elevated CO2, while the decline in dryland seed cotton yield was due to poor boll retention at high growing season temperatures. Six potential climate change adaptive ideotypes with greater drought and heat tolerances, higher yield potential, and longer maturity were designed and compared to the reference cultivar. For irrigated conditions, increasing area of full leaf and enhancing partitioning of assimilates to reproductive growth (high yield potential) were preferred, because these characteristics increased seed cotton yield substantially (by 3-9 %) with a marginal change in irrigation water use (by -1 to 3 %). For dryland production, a long maturity ideotype with longer boll filling duration was the most effective ideotype with a substantial increase in seed cotton yield by 11-45 %. The results from this study will be useful to THP cotton producers and water managers in making appropriate decisions for adapting cotton production to projected changes in future climate and groundwater availability.

Automated summary

The study assessed the impact of climate change on cotton yield and irrigation water use in the Texas High Plains, and evaluated six adaptation ideotypes for future periods. Results showed varying effects on cotton production and water use under different climate scenarios, indicating the need for appropriate adaptive strategies.