Growth, Yield and Quality of Cotton under Three Water Regimes in the Sudan

Abstract

SUMMARYThe effects of three irrigation regimes on growth, yield and quality of cotton were investigated for two seasons in relation to earliness, quality and water-use efficiency, expressed as m. of water/kg. cotton produced. Light irrigations of cotton, at 75 mm. per irrigation every ten days, were economically better than the traditionally-accepted practice of irrigating every 14 days, and markedly better than prolonging the irrigation cycle to 20 days, mainly due to increased market value of the crop. The results also showed that irrigation intervals of 20 days, besides depressing yield, had a deleterious effect on fibre strength, though the different water regimes did not seem to affect other quality tests.