Effects of Irrigation, Cultivar, and Plant Density on Cotton Within‐Boll Fiber Quality

Abstract

This study was designed to determine how within‐boll fiber quality of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is affected through irrigation, cultivar, and plant density management. Field experiments were conducted in 2006 and 2007 using two contemporary cultivars, arranged in a split‐split plot design with two irrigation rates (6.33 and 4.32 mm d−1) as the main plot, plant density (79,071; 128,490; 197,677 plants ha−1) as the subplot, and cotton cultivar (FM9063B2RF and ST4554B2RF) as the subsubplot. Plants from 3 m of one row from each plot were hand harvested by fruiting position. First fruiting position bolls from main‐stem nodes 9 and 14 were hand harvested by seed position and ginned separately for Advanced Fiber Information System (AFIS) fiber quality analysis. Increased irrigation generally increased fiber length and upper quartile length, and decreased fineness and maturity ratio. Irrigation effects were greater on fiber length and maturity ratio at seed positions close to the apex of the locule. Increased plant density reduced both fineness and maturity ratio. The cultivar FM9063B2RF produced longer, more mature, and finer fibers than the ST4554B2RF. The overall lowest fiber quality (i.e., shorter and less mature fibers) occurred at seed positions close to the apex of the locule. The superior fiber quality (i.e., longer and more mature fibers) was from the middle to the base of the locule. Abundant rainfall diminished the effects of irrigation on fiber quality.

Influence of boll sampling method and water stress on fiber quality of irrigated cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

“…For the interaction between the factors, considering the water deficit versus sampling, the interaction was not significant for the STR and ELG parameters, while the cultivar versus sampling interaction was significant only for the UHM data. These results proved that there is variation in cotton fiber quality within the same plant, depending on the boll position, as discussed by several authors, such as Bradow and Davidonis (2000), Bauer et al (2009) andFeng et al (2011).…”

“…Additionally, for experiments or field appraisal, in which cotton plants endured abiotic stresses, water deficit is the best way to estimate cotton fiber quality in harvesting the whole plant. Environmental variation that occurs within the plant canopy, between plants and between plots, causes great variability in fiber quality characteristics, not only at boll level, but also among plants and plots (Bauer et al, 2009;Bradow and Davidonis, 2000;Feng et al, 2011). In this way, the more uniform and representative the conditions of the plant and the plot as a whole is with the sampling, the more representative the results of the fiber quality analysis will be.…”

Evaluating Within‐Plant Variability of Cotton Fiber Length and Maturity

“…Ashley (1972) reported that fruits produced at the top canopy position likely receive less carbohydrate because they are initiated late in the growing season. Also, Feng et al (2011) reported that different seeds within a boll produce different fiber quality. Management practices such as planting date (Davidonis et al, 2004), plant population (Bednarz et al, 2006), and irrigation rate (Feng et al, 2010) can influence specific canopy positions and the within-canopy distribution of fiber properties in a cotton plant.…”

“…Therefore, the indeterminate growth habit of cotton plants is one of the most important contributors to the within-plant variability of cotton fiber quality. Additionally, growth conditions have an impact on the within-canopy variation of fiber quality, in particular on fiber maturity distribution (Ritchie et al, 2004;Feng et al, 2011). Fiber maturity is one of the most important fiber quality parameters as it has a potential impact on different fiber properties including fiber length, strength, the linear density of fiber or fineness, and other yield components such as cotton fiber density (Ayele et al, 2017).…”

“…Therefore, the objective of this study is to evaluate the extent of within-plant variability of fiber length and maturity of 12 upland cotton cultivars popular in the Texas High Plains. Box Picking, Ginning, and Blending The within plant distribution of fiber quality for each cultivar was captured using a box picking harvesting method following Bednarz et al, 2006;Feng et al (2011);and Ayele et al (2017). The grid box divides cotton bolls by main-stem node and fruiting positions.…”