The presence of right-angle bending in cotton tap roots clearly shows the restrictions which degradation of soil structure imposes on cotton growth. The obvious solution to this problem is to break up degraded layers by deep tillage. This solution has readily been taken up by cotton growers to the extent.that deep tillage is routinely used by . some growers. Concerns have been expressed about the cost of, and time involved in, preparing a cotton seedbed by knocking down hills and rebuilding them. These concerns led to the establishment of an experiment in which cotton production on beds left in the same place (permanent beds) was compared with production on areas which were deep tilled prior to each cotton crop. The main aim of this experiment was to assess whether high cotton production could be maintained on cotton beds kept in the same place for a number of years.