34 



BULLETIN" 1320, U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE 



slower rate of development is the cause for the complete reversal 

 of the position of the four plantings in regard to the total number 

 of squares formed on the plants. The later plantings continued 

 the production of new internodes on the lower fruiting branches 

 after the growth of the latter was checked on the older cotton. The 

 comparative size and fruiting of early and late planted cotton are 

 illustrated in Plate IV. 



EFFECT OF REMOVING FLORAL BUDS 



Kecords of the number of flowers produced on stripped and un- 

 stripped plants grown in Florida in 1922 indicated that an increased 

 rate of flowering results from the removal of squares from the plants. 5 

 In an endeavor to analyze the reaction of cotton plants to square 

 stripping, comparisons of plant development and the fruiting capacity 

 of a series of stripped and unstripped plants in each of the successive 

 plantings were made at Charleston, S. C, during 1923. From these 

 records it is possible to show the effect of square pruning on the. 

 height of plants, number of fruiting branches, number of internodes 

 on the fruiting branches, and the total number of squares formed 

 on the plants. 



Squares were removed from 10 plants in each planting on June 20. 

 Table 22 shows t]je average number of squares removed from these 

 plants, varying from 10.4 squares per plant in the first to 0.8 in the 

 last planting. 



Table 22. — Number of squares removed on June 20 from cotton -plants grown in 

 successive -plantings at Charleston on four different dates 



Date planted, 1923 



Average number of squares 



On plant 



Squares removed 



Number Per cent 



Apr. 5 

 Apr. 16 

 Apr. 25 

 May 4 



24.0 

 21.1 

 10.9 



10.4 

 8.2 

 2.5 



43.3 

 38.9 

 22.9 

 10.5 



The height of the plants was recorded weekly from June 21 until 

 August 11. These data are presented in Table 23, showing the 

 weekly growth in height of the stripped and unstripped plants for 

 the four different plantings. 



The plants in the first three plantings from which squares had 

 been removed on June 20 made slightly more growth during the 

 period from June 21 to August 11. 



The increase in the growth of the stripped plants was 2.9 centi- 

 meters in the first planting, 17 centimeters in the second, and 4.7 

 centimeters in the third. The unstripped plants in the last, or May 

 4, planting made more growth than the stripped plants, the increase 

 being 11.2 centimeters. While the comparison of growth of stripped 



£ Smith, G. D. A preliminarv report upon an improved method of controlling the boll weevil. 

 Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 165, p. 18-24, illus. 1922. 



Fla. 



