Resource Partitioning in Cotton: Three Decades Later

A field experiment was conducted in New Deal, Texas in 2018 and 2019 to re-evaluate the nutrient demands of modern cotton cultivars in Southern High Plains. The performances of three cotton cultivars (FM 958, DP 1646, PM HS26) grown under five rates of nitrogen fertilizer (0, 40, 80, 120, and 160 lb/A) were evaluated based on biomass partitioning, mineral content, boll distribution, lint yield, and fiber quality. Results from this study can provide us with information on how the modernization of cultivars altered their respective nutrient and mineral removal schemes from the soil and how these are distributed to the different organs within a plant, which can then be a basis for researchers on how nutrient partitioning should be modified to be more favorable towards reproductive organ development and subsequently, improved yields.