5IO BOTANY OF CROP PLANTS 



In Upland varieties the fourth or fifth node is the first at 

 which fruiting branches are produced; in Egyptian cotton, 

 the first fruiting branches are produced from • the eighth 

 to the fourteenth nodes. 



Vegetative and fruiting branches differ from each other in 

 other ways than origin. The former make a small angle 

 with the stem from which they arise, while fruiting branches 

 are more horizontal. Vegetative branches produce no flower 

 buds, while fruiting branches bear a flower bud opposite each 

 leaf. Vegetative branches are frequently as long as the 

 main axis, while fruiting branches are much shorter. The 

 basal internode of fruiting branches is usually longer than 

 the others. The difference in length is much more pro- 

 nounced in Egyptian cotton than in Upland cotton. The 

 internodes of vegetative branches are about equal in length. 

 Vegetative branches may form both fruiting and secondary 

 vegetative branches, but fruiting branches seldom bear 

 secondary fruiting branches or vegetative branches. Cottons 

 with short-jointed fruiting branches are more productive and 

 usually earlier than those with fewer and longer internodes. 



Form of Plant. — The general form of the cotton plant is 

 determined to a large extent by the length and number of 

 vegetative branches, as well as by the angle they make with 

 the main axis. The plant may consist of a single stalk with 

 a number of fruiting branches but no vegetative branches. 

 An excessive development of lower vegetative branches 

 makes a bushy plant. 



Branch Zones. — The cotton plant frequently has three 

 branch zones. This condition, described by McLachlan, is 

 pronounced in Egyptian cotton. The zone of vegetative 

 branches extends from the third to the tenth node; this is 

 followed by a "transition zone" or "zone of rudimentary 

 branches," of two or three nodes "at which the buds remain 



