12 



BULLETIN 1320, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



These records show that the plants in the April 19 and April 28 

 plantings produced a larger number of squares than those in the 

 plantings of May 5 and May 12. The number of squares, however, 

 increased more rapidly on the later plantings during the first half of 

 the squaring period, as will be seen by a comparison of the number 

 of squares on the plants by July 13. On this date the average num- 

 ber of squares on plants of the May 12 planting was 24.2, as compared 

 with 26.6 on plants of the April 19 planting, although this planting 

 had reached the fruiting stage two weeks earlier than the planting 

 of May 12. 



The fact that the number of squares formed on the late plants by 

 the middle of July was almost as great as the number on the early 

 plants was largely due to a better development of the lower fruiting 

 branches on plants of the later plantings. Table 8 gives the average 

 number of internodes formed on fruiting branches. The numbers 

 of internodes are determined from groups of fruiting branches, in order 

 to simplify the presentation of the data. The first eight fruiting 

 branches on plants of the May 5 and May 12 plantings developed 

 more internodes than the first eight branches of the early plantings. 

 The number of internodes on the upper fruiting branches was approxi- 

 mately the same on the first and last plantings, while the upper fruit- 

 ing branches on the, second and third plantings were not so well de- 

 veloped. This tendency toward the formation of more internodes 

 on lower fruiting branches of late-planted cotton indicates that the 

 growth of the plants was not retarded by the dry weather during 

 June and the first part of July to so great an extent as with the early 

 plants. This is shown in Plates I and II by the presence of squares 

 on plants of the later plantings during the first part of August, after 

 all squares had been shed from the plants in the early plantings. 



Table 8. — Average number of nodes on fruiting branches of cotton plants grown in 

 successive plantings at San Antonio on four different dates 



Date planted, 1923 



Branches 

 lto4 



Branches 



5 to 8 



Branches 

 9 to 12 



Branches 

 13 to 15 



Apr. 19. 

 Apr. 28. 



May 5_ 

 May 12 



1.9 

 1.57 

 2.17 

 2.52 



2.8 

 2.87 

 3.07 

 3.62 



2.45 

 2.07 

 2.07 

 2.92 



1.27 



1.0 



The average number of internodes on the first eight fruiting 

 branches on plants of the May 12 planting was 3.04, as compared 

 with 2.3 internodes on plants of the April 19 planting. An even 

 more pronounced tendency toward the formation of a greater number 

 of internodes on the lower fruiting branches of later plantings was 

 shown in the experiments at Charleston. 



FLOWERING RECORDS OF EARLY AND LATE PLANTINGS 



Flower counts were obtained from four 50-foot sections of rows in 

 the April 19, April 28, and May 5 plantings, and from two 50-foot 

 sections of rows in the May 12 planting. A section of row was located 

 on the east and west ends of rows in the first and second blocks of 

 the April 19, April 28, and May 5 plantings. No flower counts were 



