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EFFECTIVE FLOWERING TIME VARIATIONS IN UPLAND COTTON (GOSSYPIUM HIRSUTUM) AT DIFFERENT PLANTING DATES AND STAND DENSITIES IN BENIN

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2007

EMMANUEL SEKLOKA
Affiliation:
Centre de Recherche Agricole Coton et Fibres (CRA/CF)/Institut National des Recherches Agricoles du Bénin (INRAB), BP 172, Parakou, Benin
BERNARD HAU
Affiliation:
Centre de Coopération International en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD) TA 72/09, 34398 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
ERIC GOZÉ
Affiliation:
Centre de Coopération International en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD) TA 72/09, 34398 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
SYLVIE LEWICKI
Affiliation:
Centre de Coopération International en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD) TA 72/09, 34398 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
GRÉGOIRE THOMAS
Affiliation:
Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Rennes (ENSAR), 65 rue de Saint Brieuc, CS 84215, 35042 Rennes cedex, France
JACQUES LANÇON
Affiliation:
Centre de Coopération International en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD) TA 72/09, 34398 Montpellier Cedex 5, France

Abstract

Effective flowering time in Gossypium hirsutum cotton plants was studied with the aim of enhancing decision making on the best varieties to plant according to the planting date under rainfed cropping conditions. Trials were conducted at two sites in a cotton-growing area of Benin in 2002 and 2003. A split-split plot design with three replicates was used to compare 10 cotton varieties, with different growth cycle lengths and morphology, at three stand densities (42 000, 125 000, 167 000 plants ha−1) and two planting dates (standard planting in June and late planting). The flowering period was characterized by the mean first flower opening date (FF), which is an indicator of flowering earliness, and by the opening date of the last flower giving rise to a first-position boll on fruiting branches (LFP1). Effective flowering time (EFT) was calculated as the difference between LFP1 and FF. EFTs differed markedly in the 10 cotton varieties tested and this parameter could not be predicted on the basis of flowering earliness. Late planting and high planting rates delayed first-flower opening, accelerated last-boll development and reduced the effective flowering time. This latter factor should be taken into account in cotton breeding programmes so that varieties adapted to local rainfall constraints can be recommended to growers while also enhancing crop management sequences.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2007 Cambridge University Press

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