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LOGO: Journal of Cotton Science

 

Cotton Growth, Yield, and Fiber Quality Response to Irrigation and Water Deficit in Soil of Varying Depth to a Sand Layer

Authors: Matthew S. Wiggins, Brian G. Leib, Thomas C. Mueller, and Christopher L. Main
Pages: 145-152
Agronomy and Soils

Research was conducted in 2010 and 2011 at the West Tennessee Research and Education Center in Jackson, TN to investigate irrigation response in cotton. The objective of this study was to evaluate plant response to four different irrigation regimes by using main-stem node counts, quantification of canopy light interception, and canopy temperature, while making comparisons across two soils that vary in depth to a sandy layer. PHY 375 WRF cottonseed was planted in a no-tillage system in 9-m rows on 97-cm spacing with 10.5-12 seed m-1 of row. Irrigation was applied from drip tape lying in the row furrow at rates of 0, 1.27, 2.54, and 3.81 cm week-1. Comparisons were made across deep soils (no sand layer within the top 89 centimeters of soil) and shallow soils (sand layer within the top 61 centimeters of soil). Plant height, number of nodes, nodes above white flower (NAWF), canopy light interception, and canopy temperature were monitored during the blooming period of the crop each year to determine differences in irrigation response. Cotton plants grown in deep soils had higher vegetative biomass, total number of nodes, plant height, light interception, fiber quality, yield, and reduced canopy temperature compared to plants grown in the shallow soil. Similarly, irrigation increased cotton plant vegetative biomass, total number of nodes, plant height, light interception, fiber quality, yield, and reduced canopy temperature compared to dryland cotton. Results from this trial indicate that differences in physiological growth patterns, canopy density, canopy temperature, lint yield, and fiber quality are evident when compared across irrigation amounts and soil depths.