Cotton Variety Characteristics and Their Impact on Cotton Leaf Grade

Plant material (leaf, bract, etc.) in ginned cotton is quantified using a leaf grade scale (1-7) and is quantified by the cotton classing office.  High leaf grade values will result in dockage to the producer. Cotton classed at the Corpus Christi Classing Office has shown a steady increase in cotton leaf grades over the past 10 years.  Numerous variety characteristics were quantified for six cotton varieties from three trials in two different cotton production regions of Texas.  The relationshipb between the variety characteristics and cotton leaf grade will be reported.