For more than a century, farmers planted cotton in wide rows about 30 to 40 inches apart. Their choices were limited, as was their equipment, which was usually just a mule-driven plow.For more than a century, farmers planted cotton in wide rows about 30 to 40 inches apart. Their choices were limited, as was their equipment, which was usually just a mule-driven plow.Today, farmers are experimenting with planting cotton much closer together, in rows ranging from about 7-1/2 to 10 inches wide. Research is under way at ARS locations to make production of this ultra-narrow-row (UNR) cotton more economical for farmers.