Cotton in an indeterminate plant that blooms as it grows. Basically, cotton is a tree that we have adapted to grow in one year. Several varieties of cotton can get rank quick if conditions are right and we grow a majority of those excessive vegetative varieties. In order to keep cotton under control, we need to use Plant Growth Regulators (PGR). PGRs reduce plant height by slowing terminal growth. By doing this we improve boll retention on lower nodes, reduce the chance of boll rot and improve harvest. When making PGR decisions there are several things to consider such as 4th/5th internode length from the top of the plant, nodes above white flower, variety, stress, irrigation, and history of the field. Cotton is in various stages across the county so the decision to use of PGRs is going to be a field by field judgment. I added some flow charts below to help with PGR decision making. If you have any questions about using PGRs please give us a call.
Commercial plant growth regulators:
- Mepiquat Chloride (0.35 lbs a.i. / gal) (PIX, etc.)
- Mepiquat Pentaborate (0.82 lbs a.i. / gal) PENTIA
- Mepiquat Chloride (0.736 lbs a.i. / gal) + cyclanilide (0.184 lbs a.i. / gal) STANCE
Rain-fastness:
- Pentia – 2 hours (alone) & 1 hour (with high-quality adjuvant)
- Pix – 8 hours (alone) & 4 hours (with surfactant)
- Stance – 4-8 hours (alone) | 2 hours (with surfactant)