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Causes of Cotton Excessive Vegetative Growth and Control Methods

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The phenomenon in which vegetative organs such as stems, branches and leaves of the cotton plant grow excessively, causing an imbalance between vegetative growth and reproductive growth, is called excessive vegetative growth, commonly known as "runaway growth." After cotton squaring, vegetative growth and reproductive growth proceed simultaneously. If vegetative growth is too rapid and reproductive growth is inhibited, it will cause shedding of squares and bolls, and in severe cases, no bolls will set. Causes of excessive vegetative growth: mainly excessive application of fertilizer and water. From squaring to the early flowering stage is the period of fastest vegetative growth in the entire life of cotton. If nitrogen fertilizer is supplied in excess, it will cause an imbalance in the carbon-to-nitrogen metabolism ratio

The phenomenon in which vegetative organs such as stems, branches and leaves of the cotton plant grow excessively, causing an imbalance between vegetative growth and reproductive growth, is called excessive vegetative growth, commonly known as "runaway growth." After cotton squaring, vegetative growth and reproductive growth proceed simultaneously. If vegetative growth is too rapid and reproductive growth is inhibited, it will cause shedding of squares and bolls, and in severe cases, no bolls will set.

Causes of excessive vegetative growth: mainly excessive application of fertilizer and water. From squaring to the early flowering stage is the period of fastest vegetative growth in the entire life of cotton. If nitrogen fertilizer is supplied in excess, it will cause an imbalance in the carbon-to-nitrogen metabolism ratio, easily leading to excessively rapid growth of vegetative organs. In the Yellow River Basin cotton region, if the amount of nitrogen fertilizer applied at the squaring stage is too large, or if the rainy season arrives early or rain follows irrigation, cotton excessive vegetative growth is very easily caused.

Methods for controlling excessive vegetative growth: rational fertilization and irrigation: for plastic-film-mulched cotton, under the condition of sufficient basal fertilizer application, generally no seedling fertilizer is needed. In high-yield cotton fields with medium to high fertility, no fertilizer need be applied at the squaring stage. For all types of cotton fields, flower and boll fertilizer should be applied heavily at the flowering and boll stage. On the basis of irrigating sufficient bottom moisture, no irrigation is needed at the seedling stage, and the first irrigation at the squaring stage should be appropriately delayed in order to carry out "seedling squatting." Deep intertillage: cutting off part of the root system to inhibit excessively rapid growth of the cotton plant. If excessive vegetative growth is observed from the squaring stage to the early flowering stage, use intertillage implements to carry out deep intertillage 12~16 cm on one side of the cotton plant near the roots, cutting off part of the root system, which can effectively control growth for a short period. Systematic chemical control: chemical control with mepiquat chloride is an effective measure for controlling cotton excessive vegetative growth. Generally, the first chemical control should be carried out at the full squaring stage of cotton, with the dosage per mu controlled at 0.3~0.8 grams. The entire growth period of cotton requires 3~4 chemical control applications, following the principle of "light first, heavy later," and it should be applied flexibly according to the variety and local climate and other specific conditions. Pruning: when excessive vegetative growth occurs in the cotton plant, part of the main stem leaves can be removed to inhibit excessively rapid vegetative growth of the cotton plant.

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