A Beltwide Evaluation of Cotton Seed Quality Parameters

Cotton seed quality is an important criteria in grower planting decisions as seed costs have drastically increased over the past several years. Additionally, environmental conditions during the typical planting season can be erratic in many regions of the cotton belt.  Therefore, cotton seed quality is used as a predictor for stand establishment and early season vigor. Collaborative lab analysis and field experiments were implemented in 2020 to investigate the range of seed quality associated with commonly planted cultivars. Lab analysis and field experiments were conducted across 15 locations within the cotton belt during 2020. Lab analysis included parameters such as cotton seed protein and oil by percent weight and cottonseed index and density by volumetric displacement.