An experiment was designed to test seven treatments of PIX on both short and long staple cotton. The treatments included single applications of 1/2- and 1-pint rates and multiple applications of 1/8- and 1/4-pint rates. Because of the exceptionally good growing season with lots of early heat units, both short- and long-staple plants set fruit early, which limited their vegetative growth naturally without the need for FIX. Yields were high with lint production over 1800 and 1400 pounds of lint for short and long staple, respectively. Plant mapping also was performed on each treatment.

A four-by-four factorial experiment was performed on the Safford Agricultural Center to determine if CaZn, Foliar Triggrr or Soil Triggrr would cause increases in lint yields on short or long staple cotton. Four levels of PIX were used to see if there would be any interaction between PIX and the other materials. The results in 1989 showed that CaZn and the Trier products did not increase yields, the levels of PIX did not increase yields and there was no interaction between them. Very favorable weather conditions and good crop management kept plants from growing vegetative and prevented crop stress, thus reducing the opportunity for the plant growth regulators to increase yields. Yields were excellent with over 1700 and 1600 pounds of lint per acre for short and long staple cotton, respectively.

Field tests were conducted at the Maricopa and Marana Agricultural Centers to evaluate the effectiveness of growth regulators on Deltapine 90 cotton. With full season management, the check treatment yielded as well as any of the growth regulator treatments at both locations.

Summaries of cotton crop phenology, as a function of heat units (HU, 86/55°F limits) have been developed across a wide range of production conditions in Arizona. Optimum ranges in HU accumulations since January 1 are used to describe planting dates to maintain optimum yield potentials with full season varieties. Basic events such as the occurrence of pinhead squares, squares that are susceptible to pink bollworm, and first bloom are described in terms of HU accumulations since planting. Also, the expected ranges of HU's accumulated since planting that are required to accomplish crop cut -out are shown for three general maturity types of Upland cotton.

Breeding for high yield in hot environments (heat tolerance) has tripled the yield of Pirna cotton since 1949. We compared six strains (one primitive non-cultivated line, four cultivars representing advancing stages in the breeding process, and one unreleased advanced line) for their gas exchange properties in the greenhouse. Both photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance increased with improving genetic yield potential. Photosynthetic rate was enhanced more in the morning than in the afternoon. Stomatal conductance did not limit photosynthesis; rather, the changes resulted from alterations of characteristics of the green mesophyll cells. There is no evidence that increased yield results from the enhanced photosynthetic rates of single leaves. However, the increased stomatal conductance in modem lines was also expressed in the field in 1990, allowing increased transpiration rate and evaporative cooling of leaves. Heat tolerance in Pima cotton may be related to the ability of plants to cool themselves by transpiration.

DICA (3, 4-dichloro-5-isothiazole carboxylic acid) is being used as a chemical hybridizing agent in the cotton breeding program of Chembred Seed Company. This compound produces male sterile flowers. Registration of this compound by EPA requires that a plant residue study be conducted to provide data on the quantitative amounts of residues in F₁ plants and seeds, F₂ seeds and in the soil. This study was carried out in Arizona because the hybrid F₂ cotton seeds will be grown in Arizona.

Three field experiments were conducted in 1990 in Arizona to evaluate cotton crop response to several treatment regimes of multiple applications of PIX (an anti-gibberellic acid plant growth regulator). Treatment regimes used in 1990 employed higher rates of PIX/acre/application and extended times of applications later into the fruiting cycle than earlier experiments in 1988 and 1989. Similar to earlier experiments, results in 1990 demonstrated the ability of some PIX treatments to significantly reduce plant height, relative to the untreated check treatments. The 1990 cotton production season in Arizona consisted of conditions which led to excessive rates of fruit loss and abortion, and somewhat vegetative plants. Final fruit retention levels of 30 to 50% were realized in the three 1990 experiments after a period of fruit loss through July and August. Lint yield results revealed significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) between several selected treatments at only one of the locations in 1990.

A field trial was initiated during the 1992 growing season to evaluate the activity of high rate Pix use on upland cotton. The cotton field used for this trial maintained high fruit retention and low to moderate height-to-node ratios throughout the growing season. Fix treatments at label and above label rates both significantly reduced lint yield compared to the non-treated check This reinforces the concept of a feedback approach using crop monitoring (vs scheduled inputs according to calendar dates) to make management decisions on crop inputs.

The commercial product PGRIV was tested in small plots on cotton at the Maricopa Agricultural Center. Multiple foliar applications of this product had no significant effect on lint yield of Pima S-7 and DPL 90 cotton.

A field trial was initiated during the 1992 growing season to evaluate the activity of Cytokin and Piz applied alone or in combination to short staple cotton. The Cytokin treatment significantly increased lint yield over the other treatments. There were no statistically significant differences between the non-treated check and any other treatment. The Cytokin treatment increased lint yield an average of 81 pounds over the check plots. Fruit retention remained high throughout the season, indicating that Pix would not normally have been needed.