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. 
i Cook, O. F. Leaf-cut, or tomosis, a disorder of cotton seedlings. InV. S. Dept.Agr., Bur. Plant Indus. 
Cir. 120, p. 29-34, 1 fig. 1913. 
