Motes are ovules or seeds that abort prematurely. Ovules or seeds may abort because of nutritional imbalances caused by physiological or environmental stresses. An experiment was conducted in Corpus Christi, Texas with the objective of studying the effects of irrigation, date of anthesis and pre-bloom applications of Pix (mepiquat chloride) on the incident of short and long fiber motes in cotton bolls. Irrigation significantly reduced the percent of motes during both years of the study. Pix applications consistently reduced the percent long fiber motes. This effect was more evident under rainfed than under irrigated conditions. Analysis of the data showed that the main effect of Pix or the interaction term of Water*Pix were statistically significant in reducing either short or long fiber motes during two bloom tagging dates in 1994 and during one tagging date in 1995. However, a consistent numerical reductions in the number of motes was observed in Pix treated plots at most bloom tagging dates. Pix may prevent ovule or seed abortion by changing the partitioning of assimilates from vegetative to reproductive structures, ameliorating in this manner nutritional imbalances.