The Effect of Gin Sampling Frequency on Cotton Variety Trial Results

The NC On-Farm Cotton Variety Evaluation Program establishes approximately 15 to 17 on-farm replicated variety trials in producers fields across all major cotton-producing regions of NC annually.  This program was established in order to effectively evaluate yield stability of a relatively small list of varieties across a broad range of environmental conditions, soil types, planting dates, tillage regimes, etc. representing NC cotton production.  The objective of this research is to determine if single or multiple samples representing each variety in each trial for ginning and HVI analysis are sufficient for quantifying yields.