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Description:
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Maturity is a significant part of cotton production and can affect yield , quality , and suitability to an environment . However , maturity characteristics are often measured independently of actual fruiting site locations on cotton plants . The purpose of this study was to define maturity of multiple cultivars based on fruit distribution and compare these measurements with in -season plant maturity estimates . Field experiments were conducted in 2010 -2011 with seven cotton cultivars in a randomized complete block design with four replications in two locations . Measurements of in -season nodes above white flower and end -of -season boll distribution were used to determine cultivar maturity characteristics . Cultivars showed consistent nodes above white flower maturity ranking characteristics between environments in 2011 , but differed in 2010 . However , relative maturity of the cultivars based on boll distribution was consistent over all of the environments tested in 2010 and 2011 . Our results suggest that maturity comparisons between cultivars are more accurately performed using boll distribution than nodes above white flower . |