Over the past years high-yielding cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) cultivars have been developed. Improvements in lint yields were accomplished by developing earlier-fruiting cultivars, by reducing the excessive vegetative growth of older cultivars, and by allocating a higher fraction of the available carbohydrate to reproductive organs and by escaping major late season pest damage and weather related harvest losses. The current demand for earlier maturing cultivars has resulted in the development of cottons that have faster fruiting rates and a shorter vegetative growth period. This study investigates the performance of crops differing in maturities and the relationship between crop maturity and lint yield. Nine commercial cultivars and a breeding line were grown at a density of 10 plants per meter. The reproductive growth habit was analyzed by measuring number of flower buds, green boll and open boll number, as well as green boll and open boll dry weights.

The earlier and faster reproductive growth of early-maturing cultivars limited vegetative growth, causing earlier cutout and higher rates of abscission of fruit and leaves. This results in lower yields for early-maturing cottons such as CAMD-E. The pattern of vegetative and reproductive development of the cultivars studied suggests that the amount and the rate of assimilate allocated to reproductive organs has a limit, after which imbalances between reproductive and vegetative growth occurs, resulting in lower yields. An optimum combination between vegetative and reproductive growth must be obtained in order to maximize yield.