Cotton Fiber Quality is Related to Boll Location and Planting Date

Early cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) planting in the Texas Coastal Bend has the potential for improved performance through drought avoidance. This 2‐yr field study was conducted to compare the effect of boll position on fiber properties across planting dates and to determine how flowering date, boll position, and environmental factors affect fiber quality. Cotton (‘Deltapine 5409’) was planted early March, late March, and mid‐April each year. In 1997, lint yield for the early planting date (731 kg ha−1) was significantly higher than the middle (622 kg ha−1) and late (533 kg ha−1) planting dates. No significant differences in yield were found in 1999. Boll distribution patterns for middle‐ and late‐planted cotton were similar. In 1997, the drier of the 2 yr, fiber length and micronafis values increased at all boll locations with earliness of planting while in 1999, the longest and most mature fiber was associated with a number of boll locations in the middle planting date. High temperatures before and during boll development accompanied by adequate moisture increased fiber maturity.