Technical Abstract: The recent farm bill abolished the quota system and has resulted in 50% reduction of peanut planted in New Mexico, shifting the crop mix to cotton or corn silage. Peanut farmers in New Mexico are looking for an alternate crop which could benefit them economically and fit in their cropping system. A study was conducted at two locations in Clovis, NM during 2000 where cotton varieties were grown with subsurface drip irrigation (SDI; South Research Facility) and surface applied water with gated pipe system (Agricultural Science Center). The objectives of this study were to, a) determine the most suitable varieties that can be grown in Curry and Roosevelt counties of New Mexico, and b) determine the yield and quality of cotton grown with SDI compared to flood irrigation system. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with eleven cotton varieties with five replications. The plots were stripped using a two row cotton stripper. The seed cotton from each plot was caught in a sack and then weighed on a hanging scale. Fiber analysis consisted of 15 bolls that were hand harvested from each plot at random to determine the lint percent, micronaire (MIC), fiber length, and fiber strength. There was a significant variation seen among different varieties with respect to seed cotton yield, lint turnout, and fiber quality. Yields ranged from 1426 to 1989 kg lint ha-1 with 432 mm of water applied during the growing season with SDI. The average lint yields under flood irrigation were 988 to 1542 kg lint ha-1 with 609 mm of water applied. The high lint yield with the SDI may be due to soil type and irrigation system efficiency compared with the flood irrigation system. The varieties PM2167RR, PM2200RR, PM2379RR, PM2379, NMSU1517SR-3 and NMSU 1517-99 had higher lint yields and turnout than the other varieties. The Paymaster varieties averaged about 1721 kg ha-1 with SDI and 1376 kg ha-1 with the flood irrigation system. The NMSU varieties averaged about 1520 kg ha-1 with SDI and 1202 kg ha-1 with the flood irrigation system. The NMSU varieties had higher fiber length, fiber strength and lower micronaire compared with the other varieties tested.