9, BULLETIN 526, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



experiments that have been made with cotton, namely, that the 

 cotton plant has two distinct kinds of branches, vegetative and 

 fruiting, and that the relative growth of these can be controlled by 

 cultural methods. Single-stalk cotton culture differs from systems 

 usually employed in two essential features, namely, the time of thin- 

 ning and the spacing of plants in the row. Where the usual methods 

 involve thinning the seedlings soon after complete germination and 

 spacing to distances varying with the locality from 12 to 30 or more 

 inches, single-stalk culture involves later thinning and closer spac- 

 ing, down to 6 inches, or even less under some conditions. 



The purpose of the later thinning is to suppress the development 

 of vegetative branches, which usually are produced at the lower nodes 

 of the main stalk. If cotton plants are left close together in the row 

 during the early stages of their growth, few vegetative branches are 

 likely to develop, for the buds at the lower nodes of the main stalks 

 remain dormant, and only fruiting branches appear at the upper 

 nodes. So in applying single-stalk culture, thinning is delayed until 

 after the suppression of vegetative branches has been accomplished 

 and until fruiting branches are expected to appear. Then the plants 

 are spaced only far enough apart to allow for the normal develop- 

 ment of the fruiting branches. The distance at which single-stalk 

 plants may be spaced to advantage will depend upon local conditions, 

 differing with soil and climate and the variety used, but, owing to 

 their narrow, erect form the plants may be left much closer together 

 than usual without danger of injurious crowding. In fact, single- 

 stalk rows usually are less crowded than those in which the plants, 

 thinned early and wide spaced, have been allowed to develop fully 

 their long basal limbs, which often equal or even exceed in size the 

 main stalk of the plant. 



Owing to the suppression of excessive vegetative growth on single- 

 stalk plants, they usually reach maturity in a shorter time than the 

 more bushy plants. While fewer bolls per plant may be produced, 

 single-stalk rows usually contain a greater total number of bolls and 

 hence give larger row yields than rows grown by the usual systems of 

 culture. Another important feature of single-stalk culture is that, 

 where later thinning is practiced, greater protection is afforded 

 against damage from inclement weather or other injuries to which 

 the seedlings are subject, particularly leaf-cut or tomosis. 1 An addi- 

 tional advantage of later thinning lies in the opportunity to take out 

 weak or injured plants when the thinning is done, so that only normal 

 individuals are left, a condition which increases the yield and earli- 

 ness of the crop. 



iCook, O. F. Leaf-cut, or t-omosis, a disorder of cotton seedlings. JnV.S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Plant Indus. 

 Cir. 120, p. 29-34, 1 fig. 1913. 



