Crop management technique for increasing hybrid seed production in genetic male sterile cotton

Abstract

A study was undertaken to increase the productivity of hybrid cotton seed and to reduce its production cost. Experiments were therefore conducted to reduce the number of pollination days, to determine the feasibility of off-season seed production in summer (second crop) after harvesting the first rainy season crop, and to examine the possibility of harvesting seed from the second rainy season crop (third crop) all from one sowing of parental stock through appropriate crop and fruiting management techniques. Reduction in the pollination period from 60 to 30 days in the first rainy season crop (first crop) did not lead to any loss in seed yield and also enabled the growing of a summer crop (second crop) which gave a similar seed yield to the first crop following a pollination period of only 1 7 days. The third crop (second rainy season crop), exposed to 13 days of pollination, gave the highest seed yield compared to the first and second crops.