Effect of different defoliants and application times on the yield and quality components of cotton in semi-arid conditions

This study was conducted to determine the effect of different defoliants (Dropp ultra® (DU): thidiazuron+diuron and Roundup (RU): glyphosate) and application times [60, 75 and 90 days after flowering (DAF)] on cotton. The research was carried out at the Harran University, Faculty of Agriculture Research and Application Center in 2001 and 2002 using cotton variety cv. Stoneville-453. Experiments were arranged as split plot design with three replications. Defoliations were at the main plots and application times at the subplots. Experimental plots were consisted of six rows, 10 m in length, inter-row was 0.70 m and intra-row spacing was 0.20 m. The results of the study indicated that the application of DU defoliant at 60 days after flowering reduced seed cotton yield, number of bolls, boll weight and lint index. With this, seed cotton yield, number of bolls, boll weight and lint index increased with delayed defoliation time in both years. Also, there were no statistically significant differences between the treatments in terms of ginning outturn, fiber length, fiber strength and fiber fineness. It was also found that the application of 2000 cc ha-1 RU was not enough as a dose to affect leaf defoliation and other investigated components. © 2010 Academic Journals.