Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Dawson, Georgia » National Peanut Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #176836
Title: LINT QUALITY AND YIELD CHARACTERISTICS OF NORMAL AND MISSHAPEN BOLLS TO INEFFECTIVE POLLINATION

Author
item COLLINS, GUY - NC STATE
item EDMISTEN, KEITH - NC STATE
item Nuti, Russell
item CASTEEL, SHAUN - NC STATE
item VIATOR, RYAN - NC STATE
item LANIER, JAMES - NC STATE
item HAMM, JAMES - NC STATE
item BULLINS, NEAL - NC STATE
item WILSON, DAVIE - NC STATE

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/5/2005
Publication Date: 3/1/2005
Citation: vol. 76.

Interpretive Summary: None required.

Technical Abstract: Misshapen bolls are formed when incomplete pollination occurs. Poor pollination could result from a number of conditions including the application of glyphosate after the four-leaf stage (Pline et al., 2002). These misshapen bolls, often referred to as hawk-billed bolls, can produce poor fiber quality. Field tests were conducted in 2002-2004 near Clayton, N.C. A conventional cotton cultivar, DP 5415, was planted as one treatment where no glyphosate was applied (CONV). The remaining treatments were planted with DP 5415 RR and received applications of glyphosate. These 3 treatments included a nontreated control (RR-UTC), a broadcast application of glyphosate at the 4-leaf stage (4LF), and a 4-leaf broadcast application followed by a post directed application contacting the bottom half of the plant at the 8-leaf stage (8PD). All glyphosate applications were 0.75 lbs. ae/A. The tests were harvested and fiber quality was analyzed using HVI in 2003-2004. Fifty misshapen bolls and fifty normal bolls were collected from each plot at lint maturity, to determine the influence of misshapen bolls on fiber quality. In 2003, the number of misshapen bolls per 5 feet of row was also recorded. Misshapen bolls affected 5 fiber quality aspects in all years. These bolls displayed lower uniformity, as well as bordering the discount ranges for high micronaire and short staple. Yellowness increased and reflectiveness decreased with misshapen bolls. The RR-UTC produced shorter fibers compared to the CONV treatment in 2002 and 2003. The frequency of misshapen bolls was significantly higher for all glyphosate treatments in 2003 but yield and ginout was not affected. In 2003, a whole-plot subsample of seed cotton displayed a decrease in strength in the 2 treatments receiving glyphosate compared to the RR-UTC.