Harvesting

Leaf Pubescence and Defoliation Strategy Influence on Cotton Defoliation and Fiber Quality

“…Proper defoliation is critical to maximizing the yield and profitability of the crop. Because cotton is a perennial crop that is grown and managed as an annual for agronomic benefits, eliminating green, live plant material and minimizing the amount of dead plant material contaminating harvested seed cotton is crucial to optimize harvest efficiency and lint quality (Colwick et al, 1984). Proper defoliation has numerous benefits including reducing the amount of leaf and other plant material (referred to as trash) in harvested seed cotton (Brecke et al, 2001;Valco and Snipes, 2001), reducing damage to fiber in the ginning process by lessening the amount of cleaning required for achieving marketable lint (Valco and Snipes, 2001), reducing losses to boll rot (Brown, 1953), and allowing for earlier harvest to avoid weathering (Cathey et al, 1982;Siebert and Stewart, 2006).…”

“…Reduced leaf pubescence has been an important goal of cotton breeding to improve lint quality (Colwick et al, 1984). Leaf pubescence can influence cotton production and ginning practices by reducing defoliation efficacy and reducing lint quality due to increased trash content because the pubescent plant material can become entangled in the lint.…”

“…Leaf pubescence can influence cotton production and ginning practices by reducing defoliation efficacy and reducing lint quality due to increased trash content because the pubescent plant material can become entangled in the lint. A reduction in motes (Novick et al, 1991), greater lint cleaning efficacy (Bechere et al, 2011;Colwick et al, 1984;Novick et al, 1991), and a reduction in trash or nonlint material in ginned lint has been observed in cultivars with reduced leaf pubescence compared to hairier cultivars (Novick et al, 1991;Ramey, 1962;Smith, 1964;Wanjura et al, 1976).…”

“…Plant tissue must be alive for the formation of an abscission layer to occur, thus optimal defoliation could be prevented if cell and tissue death occur too rapidly, inhibiting the formation of the abscission layer (Cathey, 1986;Clark and Carpenter, 1997;Stahler, 1953;Stichler et al, 1995). Leaf removal typically occurs 7 to 17 d after the application of defoliants (Colwick et al, 1984;Clark and Carpenter, 1997).…”