Cotton Growth and Production as Affected by Moisture, Nitrogen, and Plant Spacing on the Yuma Mesa

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Abstract
Acala 44 cotton was grown near Yuma, Ariz. on irrigated Superstition loamy sand having a steep productivity gradient from one end of the field to the other. Effects of soil moisture, N rate, and plant spacing, each at 3 levels in a factorial experiment, were determined for vegetative growth, fruiting, N uptake, yields, and ginning and fiber characteristics.Yields were increased substantially by N, and significantly, but less so by moisture and spacing. The spacing effect was limited to the second of 2 pickings. Considering the 4 direct factors which determine cotton yields (total flowers, percent boll‐set, boll size, and percent lint) fertilizer affected 2 and spacing 4 of these factors. The precision of the experiment did not permit a decision as to how moisture increased yields since none of the 4 factors were affected significantly.Cotton growth and production were unsatisfactory where substantial cuts were made in leveling the field before planting. The range of yields among individual plots varied almost 800% with a maximum of 2.51 bales and a mean of 1.28 bales of lint per acre. In spite of the large productivity gradient and resultant variations in growth and yield, relative response to a given treatment was remarkably consistent.

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