January 20,2021
Response of Deltapine® Cotton Varieties to Plant Growth Regulator Regimes - 2020
January 20,2021
The plant growth regulator (PGR) mepiquat chloride benefits cotton production by helping to balance vegetative growth with reproductive growth. PGR applications at the appropriate rate and timing are essential for managing cotton varieties in the coastal U.S.
Location | Scott, MS | ||
Soil Type | Commerce silt loam | ||
Previous Crop |
Corn | ||
Tillage Type |
Conventional |
Planting Date | 5/12/20 | ||
Harvest Date | 10/1/20 | ||
Potential Yield (lbs/acre) |
1900 | ||
Seeding Rate (seeds/acre) |
45,000 |
This study was set up to encourage excessive vegetative growth in a field following corn with high fertility (120 lb/acre of actual nitrogen soil applied as 32% liquid N) and irrigation applications.
All other agronomic inputs (weed control, insect control, and irrigation) were per local standards for each treatment.
Single replicate strip plots were planted of 6 rows x 400 feet or approximately 0.2 acre/plot.
Like 2019, 2020 was not a year where an aggressive PGR approach was needed at the Bayer Learning Center in Scott, Mississippi. This is seen in both the height data and yield results; plots were generally shorter, and the untreated controls had higher yields than historical averages (Figures 1 and 2).
On average across all cotton varieties, both PGR regimes improved yields in this trial by approximately 300 lbs/acre compared to the untreated control (Figure 2).
Correct PGR use is essential to optimize the growth habit of modern cotton varieties.
Earlier maturity varieties can be more sensitive to PGR applications compared with later maturity cotton varieties. Therefore, rate and timing of early applications are more important for later maturity cotton varieties for obtaining the needed growth control. This is particularly true in high fertility environments that favor vegetative growth.
Plant growth monitoring and understanding historical varietal response to PGR application can help determine PGR application decisions.
These data can be useful in considering the stress tolerance associated with cotton products. Typically, cotton varieties that are more sensitive to PGR applications can be more sensitive to stress and should be considered when determining field placement. Cotton varieties that are less sensitive to PGR applications are somewhat more stress-tolerant and can typically be planted into more stressful production systems.
Consult your local Bayer representatives for more information about Deltapine® cotton variety placement and management for the 2021 season.
January 20,2019
The plant growth regulator (PGR) mepiquat chloride benefits cotton production by helping to balance vegetative versus reproductive growth. The appropriate rate and timing of PGR applications are essential to the management of cotton varieties in the coastal U.S.
Each season a new set of candidate cotton varieties is introduced through the Deltapine® New Product Evaluator (NPE) program.
The primary objectives of this study were to:
Location | Scott, MS | ||
Soil Type | Silt loam - mixed | ||
Previous Crop |
Corn | ||
Tillage Type |
Conventional |
Planting Date | 5/17/19 | ||
Harvest Date | 10/9/19 | ||
Potential Yield (lbs/acre) |
2000 | ||
Seeding Rate (seeds/acre) |
41,000 |
Varieties with a relatively high amount of height reduction are likely more sensitive to PGR applications and generally require less aggressive management. Understanding the nature of each cotton product helps in both proper placement and management decisions.
The tallest plants in this experiment were from the untreated plots and averaged 70 inches tall at the end of the season (Figure 2A). This is in contrast to 2018 where the tallest plants ended the season at 89 inches tall (Figure 2B). Compared to 2018, the environmental conditions of 2019 did not favor strong vegetative growth, resulting in less need for growth control.
A range of response (in height and height reduction) to PGR application was observed across this experiment (Figures 2A and 3). Several of the cotton varieties showed different levels of susceptibility to PGR application rates and timings.
When measured as a percent height reduction with similar rates and timings of PGR as were used in previous years of this study, a similar range of response was observed across cotton products with some products showing greater response to growth control (Figure 3).
The aggressive regime utilized the maximum labeled rate of 48 oz/acre split into three applications of 16 oz/acre. The earlier timing and higher application rates offered more power in growth control for some of the tested cotton varieties. Environmental conditions did not favor strong vegetative growth in 2019, resulting in some varieties experiencing yield loss with the aggressive PGR regime compared to the passive PGR regime.
As compared to previous years, cotton yield was considerably higher in all treatments in 2019. Averaged across all products, the untreated plots yielded 1335 lb lint/acre (Figure 4A). This contrasts with similar work in 2018 where the untreated plots averaged 653 lb lint/acre (Figure 4B). While environmental conditions were not conducive to excessive vegetative growth in 2019, they were ideal for boll retention and, when coupled with good harvest conditions, led to higher yields.
Across all tested cotton products, the passive PGR application regime increased yield by 370 lb lint/acre over the untreated plots (Figure 4A).
The aggressive regime increased yield over the untreated plots by 218 lb lint/acre but were 152 lb lint/acre lower yielding than the passive regime (Figure 4A).
As represented in Figure 6, all plots in this trial produced relatively high yields with the lowest recorded yield being 1100 lb lint/acre and the highest yield recoded being approximately 2000 lb lint/acre.
As in previous years, the treatment resulting in the tallest plants (greater than 60 inches) in the trial was the lowest yielding, while the plants in the higher yielding plots were between 40 and 60 inches at the end of the season.
Contrasting to previous work, some of the more aggressively managed plots were lower yielding as compared to those less aggressively (passively) managed. End-of-season plant height less than 40 inches typically was associated with reduced yield as compared to the plots with an end-of-season height between 40 and 60 inches.
2019 was a year where PGRs could have been overused (as in some of the aggressively managed plots) and continues to point out the need for variety characterization, proper/timely scouting, decision making, and PGR applications.
Both the NPE candidate cotton products and current commercial Deltapine® cotton products had high yield potential in the Scott, MS location during 2019.
Correct PGR use is essential to optimize the growth habit of modern cotton products.
Newer cotton products are typically more aggressive in growth habit than older ones, making the need for timely monitoring and growth control application critical to the success of a cotton field. As much as a two-fold difference in growth response to PGR applications was observed across the tested cotton products in 2019.
Plant growth and monitoring are the best tools for use in making the decision to use a growth control application with historical varietal response being an additional consideration.
Consult your local Bayer representatives for further information about Deltapine product placement and management for the 2020 season.
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