Estimating the Vegetative and Reproductive Balance in Cotton Growth

A healthy, well-developed cotton plant that is capable of high yield requires a strong root system, mainstem structure, sufficient leaves, and numerous fruiting branches to support a good boll load. Too small a vegetative structure on the plant results in reduced yield potential, and too much vegetative development, which is usually done at the expense of fruit set and yield. Accordingly, the central objective in a cotton production system is to provide a well-balanced level of development between the vegetative structure and the crop’s fruit, hence the vegetative/reproductive balance. This balance is the object of many production strategies and many management decisions. Therefore, having some means of evaluating a crop with regard to this vegetative/reproductive balance is important to any cotton grower.