Plant Height, Maturity and Yield of Transgenic Bt Cotton Treated with Different Plant Growth Regulators

Plant Growth Regulators (PRGs) are widely used on cotton production in China. In this study, three PGRs of mepiquat chloride (MC), diethyl aminoethl hexanoate(DTA-6), and combination of MC and DTA-6 (MC+DTA-6) were used on transgenic Bt cotton in Hebei and Shandong province in China from 2004 to 2005. The effects of PGRs on plant height, nodes, maturity and yield were investigated. Results showed that plant height was significantly reduced by MC and MC+DTA-6 treatments comparing to non-treated control. Mepiquat chlorid did not significantly affect the yield but significantly improved boll forming and boll distribution. MC+DTA-6 treat significantly enhanced the yield compared with control.