FLOWER-BUD AND BOLL SHEDDING OF COTTON IN 

 THE ILORIN PROVINCE, NIGERIA. 



By THOMAS THORNTON, A.R.C.S. 



Assistant Superintendent of Agriculture, Northern 

 Provinces, Nigeria. 



ONE of the most serious troubles there is to contend 

 with in this part of Nigeria in the growing of cotton is 

 the shedding of flower-buds and young' bolls. It will be 

 well understood that this trouble, if it occurs to any 

 extent, will be of great importance in reducing the crop 

 returns. 



On arriving in the Province at the beginning of April 

 of last year, the old cotton which was standing* indicated 

 that shedding had been very serious during the previous 

 season. Practically no bolls from which cotton had been 

 picked were to be seen on the lower parts of the plants; 

 almost all the crop had been reaped from bolls which had 

 been developed at the tops of the plants and the ends of 

 the branches. 



I arranged to try and determine the cause of this 

 shedding, and with this object in view made a daily record 

 of the flowers opening, the buds and bolls shed, and the 

 various climatic factors. 



The minimum temperatures were taken every morn- 

 ing, and the maximum every afternoon. The readings 

 indicated by the wet and dry bulb thermometers were 

 taken daily at 6 a.m., 9 a.m., 12 noon, 3 p.m., and 6 p.m., 

 and the relative humidity of the atmosphere at these times 

 was worked out from these records. 



Four different types of cotton were kept under observa- 

 tion : Ishan, an African type; Allen's Improved, an 

 American long staple cotton which had been obtained 

 from Uganda ; Nyasaland Upland, another American long- 

 staple cotton obtained from Nyasaland; and Durango, a 

 long staple cotton obtained from California. 



