Interest in the production of cotton in relatively narrow rows has increased significantly in recent years. The introduction of a spindle picker capable of picking cotton in row widths of 30 to 32 inches has resulted in an increase of acreage. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the fruiting characteristics of cotton grown in narrow rows in Mississippi.

For this evaluation two sites in Mississippi were selected in 1992. These sites were located on cotton farms currently producing cotton in narrow rows. These farms were located in Bolivar and Tallahatchie counties, both of which are in the Mississippi Delta region of the state.

Preliminary analysis of one year's data indicates that when cotton is planted into 30 to 32 inch row spacings, it tends to accumulate more of its total yield on the lower fruiting nodes as compared to conventional row spacings. The narrow rows were earlier than the conventional row spacing. There was no apparent difference in maturity of the skip row as compared to the solid plantings. Additional data is needed to confirm these findings.

At the Bolivar county location DPL-50 was planted in 30 inch rows in both a solid and a 2 by 1 skip row configuration. The Tallahatchie county location had DPL-5415 planted in narrow rows, 32 inches, and conventional 40 inch spacings. Data were collected by the whole plant map technique at harvest. From each planting pattern plants from six replications of 10 row feet each were collected. Fruiting sites from each plant were harvested individually. Data collected from these plants were then used to calculate percent fruit retention and percent of yield by each individual fruiting site. This data was then used to compare the planting patterns.