Growth and Development of a Cotton Plant

A better understanding of cotton growth and development in commercial production is important in the continuing efforts of growers to produce lint and seed yield more efficiently and profitably. The cotton plant has perhaps the most complex structure of any major field crop. Plant development in cotton proceeds through a number of stages, which for practical reasons, may be divided into five main growth stages: germination and emergence, seedling establishment, leaf area and canopy development, flowering and boil development, and maturation. Cotton has a distinctive and predictable flowering pattern. During the maturation phase, boil development proceeds with the formation of seeds and lint, leading up to boil opening, defoliation, and harvesting. The distribution of the boils on the plant varies due to abscission from physiological and environmental causes. The heat unit concept utilizes temperature rather than calendar days in describing growth and development of a crop.