ABSTRACT

A shift from traditional stripper cotton varieties to Fibermax (FM) 958 and similar types has occurred in the Texas High Plains and Rolling Plains. A study to establish the flowering habits of FM 958 compared to several varieties known to represent a wide range of maturities was conducted in Lubbock, TX in 2003. Paymaster (PM) HS26, Paymaster (PM) 183, Acala 1517-99, Delta Pine (DP) 491, Fibermax (FM) 5013, and Fibermax (FM) X9740 were selected from the Bayer CropScience advanced yield test. All white blooms on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during the bloom period were counted and recorded. All completely open bolls were counted and snap harvested on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during the boll opening period. Each week the harvested cotton was pooled together for each variety. Each sample was ginned and a cumulative yield was calculated. The results of this study indicate that FM 958 is a determinate variety that produced more blooms and terminated blooming later than most conventional varieties for this area.