J.
Agronomy & Crop Science 191, 116—124 (2005)

2005 Blackwell Verlag, Berlin
ISSN 0931-2250
Cotton Research Center, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan, Shandong, China
Increased Yield and Revenue with a Seedling Transplanting System for Hybrid Seed
Production in Bt Cotton
H. Z. Dong, W. J. Li, W. Tang, Z. H. Li, and D. M. Zhang
AuthorsÕ address: Prof. H. Z. Dong (corresponding author; e-mail: donghz@saas.ac.cn), Prof. W. J. Li, Mrs W. Tang, Mr Z. H. Li
and Mrs D. M. Zhang, Cotton Research Center, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, Shandong, China
With 2 figures and 5 tables
Received March 1, 2004; accepted June 3, 2004
Abstract
Rapid adoption of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) transgenic
hybrid cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in China is greatly
attributed to high-quality hybrid seed produced in
northern Shandong cotton production area; however,
seed yield has reached a plateau in this area in recent
years. Shifting the growing season earlier in the year by
planting earlier in a greenhouse-like hut and transplanting
the raised seedlings to the open fields later may allow
the crop to produce more seeds. Four-year consecutive
experiments conducted in Huimin County (northern
Shandong, China) showed that early-season chilling stress
on seedlings was avoided in such a hut, and that the
blooming period was extended by about 1 week longer and
the peak blooming occurred 5 days earlier in the year in the
transplanting system than in the normal planting system.
The number of early-season blooms and the number of
bolls retained per unit area in transplanting system were
significantly higher than those in normal planting system,
but there were no significant differences in boll size and lint
percentage between the two planting systems. Seed yield
and quality parameters were significantly improved in the
transplanting system through the increased number of bolls
per square metre and earlier blooming respectively. As a
result of improvement in seed yield and quality, the net
revenue for seed producers with the transplanting system
was increased by 20.8 and 22.5 % in 2002 and 2003,
respectively, compared with the corresponding net revenue
in the normal planting system. Seedling transplanting is a
potent way to enhance hybrid seed production in Bt
transgenic cotton.
Key words: Bt cotton — hybrid seed — planting
patterns — seedling transplanting
Introduction
Heterosis is a universal phenomenon in nature
(Davis 1978). Although hybrid cotton has been
grown on large acreages in India for several
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decades (Basu and Paroda 1995), it is only in
recent years that Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) trans-
genic hybrid cotton is utilized for production in
China (Dong et al. 2004). Bt cotton hybrid (F1)
developed from crossing a Bt cotton line and a
local cotton line, usually results in approximately
20 % increase in yield compared with non-hybrid
cotton. It is estimated that about 0.6 million
hectares of Bt hybrid cotton was planted in 2003
in China, accounting for 15 % of China’s total
cotton-growing area. Rapid adoption of Bt
hybrid cotton in China is greatly attributed to
high-quality seed produced in northern Shandong
with a production system depending on hand
emasculation and pollination (Dong et al. 2003).
As a result of cheap labour forces and abundant
sunshine during cotton growth, production costs
in northern Shandong are lower and seed quality
is better than in other cotton-growing areas.
Therefore, northern Shandong is currently the
largest base for cotton hybrid seed production in
China, providing more than 80 % of total hybrid
seed for the nation each year. Unfortunately, the
average cottonseed yield per unit area has
reached a plateau in recent years. New alterna-
tives should be introduced for further increase in
unit yield of cotton hybrid seed.
Cotton yield in northern Shandong is limited
by the amount of heat accumulation during the
growing season, especially during the early and
late season (Hsu and Gale 2001, Li 2001). It is
believed that bolls set after 20 August cannot
mature because of low temperature, and flowers
occurring after 13 August should be removed to
avoid harvesting immature bolls (Dong et al.
2003). In theory, therefore, shifting the peak
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Transplanting for Enhancing Cotton Hybrid Production 117

blooming period to an earlier time might be a Materials and Methods

potent way to reduce the influence of low tem- Experimental site and variety
perature during late season (Pettigrew 2002). One
Two experiments were conducted at Huimin County
technique to accomplish this shift in the blooming (11751¢E, 3749¢N) of Shandong Province, China’s largest
period is to plant the crop earlier than has been county-level base for cotton hybrid production. The soil of
typically recommended for this area. However, the the experimental area is a sandy loam. The land was
disadvantage to this technique could be increased ploughed and irrigated in early spring before planting. The
risk for exposure of the cotton seedlings to cold climate at this site is temperate and monsoonal. Cotton is
stress (Christiansen and Rowland 1986). Exposure usually planted in late-April and harvested by hand in
October, with a period of nearly 6 months for cotton plant
to cool conditions can also increase the chance of
growth and development. From April to October, the
seedling infections by soil-borne pathogens (Edm- rainfall is highly variable and averages 400 mm. Average
isten et al. 2003). Therefore, many recommended air temperature was 26 C during summer and early
optimum planting windows establish their earliest autumn, and 16 C during late spring and mid-autumn.
planting opportunity based on the fact that seed The total sunshine duration during the growing season was
emergence is seriously inhibited below 14 C and 1650 h (Table 1).
growth in the cotton plant becomes nearly inactive The materials for this study consisted of female parent
below 15 C, further coupled with the objective to Lu613 (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and male parent R55 (Bt
transgenic upland cotton) of a commercial hybrid cotton
minimize loss from seedling disease (Waddle
SCRC-15. Acid-delinted seeds of parents were kindly
1984). provided by the Plant Breeding Section, Shandong Cotton
Production systems providing either a degree of Research Center (SCRC), Jinan, Shandong.
early seedling tolerance to, or a protection from,
chilling stress would make the benefits from early
planting more consistent. Application of fungicides
and high-quality seed could reduce the inhibition of
seedling growth by early season low temperature, Table 1: Monthly weather summary from 2000 to 2003
but cold stress could not be completely avoided at Huimin County, northern Shandong
(Pettigrew 2002). In southern China, a seedling Month 2000 2001 2002 2003
transplanting system in which cotton seedlings are
Average temperature (C)
raised in a greenhouse-like hut during the early
April 15.5 14.5 14.9 14.2
season and transplanted to open fields after tem- May 20.7 22.5 20.3 20.5
perature rises has been widely adopted. Trans- June 26.2 26.4 25.3 25.4
planting significantly increases benefits from yield July 27.8 27.2 27.8 26.6
increase, seed saving and good stand establishment August 25.3 25.6 26.5 25.3
by the elimination of harmful environmental effects September 21.3 20.9 20.5 20.3
before transplanting, and the extended growing October 13.7 15.4 13.5 14.0
season in comparison with normal planting in Average 21.5 21.8 21.3 20.9
cotton production in China (Li 2001). Such advan- Precipitation (mm)
tages for cotton transplanting were also demon- April 20.4 19.3 20.2 32.3
strated in other countries (Sarvestani and Kordi May 11 7.9 45.2 34.5
June 71.2 55.7 147.1 60.4
2001, Greer et al. 2003, Karve 2003). However, this
July 205.1 121.2 41.5 72.8
technique is rarely applied in hybrid seed produc- August 141.0 95.1 42.0 140.4
tion in cotton. September 31.9 14.8 4.3 52.1
The primary objective of this study was to October 40.8 42.5 13.5 32.0
determine whether transplanting has yield advant- Total 521.4 356.5 320.1 540.7
age over normal planting, assuming that the peak Sunshine duration (h)
blooming period was shifted to an earlier time and April 241.5 259 254 236.3
more bolls per unit area were retained with May 261.4 332 247 284
transplanting than with normal planting. The June 202.7 256 226 271.9
secondary objective was to compare seed quality July 207.5 243 280 237.4
and net revenue between transplanting and normal August 214.1 253 297 235.3
September 234.7 180 252 222.9
planting, and finally to evaluate the practical value
October 139.6 168 224 213.8
of using the transplanting technique for hybrid seed Total 1501.5 1691 1780 1701.6
production.
118
Experimental design
The first experiment was conducted in 2000 and 2001 to
compare yield performance of three planting systems which
included early planting, normal planting and transplanting,
at different plant population densities. For early planting
and normal planting, parents were planted on 5 and
28 April in 2000, and 8 and 30 April in 2001 respectively.
For transplanting, parents were planted in a greenhouse-
like hut on the same dates as in early planting treatment,
but transplanted to the field plots on 28 April and 30 April
in 2000 and 2001 respectively.
In both years experiments on the female parent were
arranged in a split plot design with three replications. Main
plots were planting systems and subplots were population
densities. Each plot was four rows with row length of 20 m
and row spacing of 100 cm respectively. Three seedling
densities in subplots resulted from either precise trans-
planting or hand thinning after emergence, and were
3.3, 2.9 and 2.3 plants m)2 respectively. The male parent
was grown in an adjacent field (1 : 6, male/female in area)
in order to fetch pollen easily for crossing.
The second experiment was conducted in 2002 and 2003
to determine whether transplanting system had advantages
for seed yield and revenue over normal planting at an
optimum plant density of 3.3 plants m)2 which was
recommended in the first experiment. In both years,
experiments were conducted simultaneously in eight loca-
tions that were 1–2 km from the first experimental location
across Huimin County. Using normal planting as the
control, the experiment was arranged in a randomized
complete block design with three replications in each
location. Each plot was four rows with row length of 30 m
and row spacing of 100 cm respectively. Parents were
planted on 5 and 28 April in the transplanting system and
normal planting system, respectively, and transplanted on
28 April in the transplanting system.
Cultural practice and hand crossing
In the transplanting system, Ôcolumned soil blocksÕ, made of
soil and organic fertilizer (8 : 1, w/w), 5 cm in diameter and
12 cm high each, were prepared in early April before
planting. Columned soil blocks were then tidily placed into
a eutropic soil bed (10 cm deep and 1.5 m wide). After
watering, each block was sowed with one seed for raising
cotton seedling. The seedling bed was then covered with
plastic film which was supported by Bamboo sticks to build
a 50-cm high arciform hut. As temperature inside the
greenhouse-like hut was much higher than outside the hut,
it provided a quite favourable condition for emergence and
seedling growth during the early season. After the seedlings
reach one to two true leaf stage, blocks with seedlings were
transplanted to open field plots with a hand transplanter.
In all the experiments, both female and male cotton fields
per hectare was fertilized with 15 t chicken manure and
300 kg commercial compound fertilizer containing 30 %
N, 20 % P2O5 and 40 % K2O before either planting or
transplanting. Side-dressing with 90 kg N ha)1 was con-
ducted at 80 days after planting (DAP).
Dong et al.
Hand emasculation and pollination was performed by
trained farmers according to a technical criterion estab-
lished by SCRC. In all the experiments, emasculation was
started on the initial date of blooming and ended on
13 August, after which the rest of the flowers and squares
were totally removed, as white flowers appearing after
13 August cannot produce mature seed (Dong et al. 2003).
Squares which appear to bloom on the female parent plant
were emasculated from 3:00 to 6:00 pm and pollinated with
the male pollen from 9:00 to 11:00 am the next morning.
F1 hybrid seed cotton was harvested three times by hand
from September to October. Cotton fields were intensively
managed according to local agronomic practices unless
otherwise indicated.
Data collection and analysis
Collected data included yield of seedcotton and seed in
the first experiment, yield parameters and input and
output values in the second experiment, and emergence
rate and seedling survival rate and blooming pattern in
both experiments. Yield parameters consisted of total
number of bolls, boll size (weight) and lint percentage.
Plots were harvested by hand, and lint percentage was
determined using a laboratory gin. Input value mainly
including soil preparation, seedling raising and trans-
planting, plastic film, seed, fertilizer, pesticide, irrigation
and labour was recorded in detail. Output value of seed
and lint was calculated according to market price on a
4-year average. Both the input and output values were
converted from Chinese Yuan to US$ with the official
exchange rate.
Before blooming, 20 plants were randomly selected from
the centre two rows in each plot and tagged with red rope
for late bloom counting. The number of white blooms
(blooms at anthesis) per plot was counted at a 5-day
interval throughout the growing season. These counts were
initiated at the first sign of blooming and were continued
until hand pollination ended on 13 August. Counts were
collected each year for both experiments.
Basic weather data were collected at an official weather
station located 1 km from the first experimental site. Soil
temperature at 5 cm depth either inside or outside the hut
was recorded at 2:00, 8:00, 14:00 and 20:00 hours each day
with a geothermometer. Cumulative early season cold units
were calculated as described by Kittock et al. (1987):
R (10 C)daily minimum temperature if £ 10 C) from
planting to 20 May.
Seed density (g cm)3) was determined using the methods
described by Gadallah (2000). Germination test was
conducted with sterilized sand at 30 C. The germination
rate was computed on the basis of normal seedlings only
(ISTA 1996). The experiments were repeated three times.
Data were analysed with an experimental statistic
analysis system designed by Research Center for Agricul-
tural Technology and Information (1990), Yantai, Shan-
dong. Means were separated using either Fisher’s protected
test or Duncan’s multiple range test at a significance level of
0.05.
Transplanting for Enhancing Cotton Hybrid Production 119

Results 3500
a
Transplanting
Normal planting
Soil temperature during early season 3000
b Early planting
For both experiments from planting to May 20, 2500 c

Yield (kg ha–1)

daily maximum and minimum soil temperatures at 2000 a
a 5-cm depth inside the hut in the transplanting b
1500 c
system were considerably higher than outside the
hut (Table 2). Each year, on dates when the early 1000

planting outside the hut occurred, the 5-cm depth 500

daily minimum temperature dipped below the 0
15 C threshold at which cotton seedling growth
becomes mostly inactive (Waddle 1984). Minimum 3500
soil temperature in early planting system inside the a
3000
hut and in normal planting outside the hut was b
higher than this growth threshold in each year. 2500 c

Yield (kg ha–1)

High emergence and adequate stands were
obtained within the transplanting system and
normal planting system, but not within the early
planting system. Early planting outside the hut did
not provide adequate stands due to poor emergence
and serious seedling diseases. On a 4-year average,
the emergence rate counted at 12 DAP and the
seedling survival rate at 30 DAP (before thinning)
was 46.7 and 60.2 % for the early planting system,
90.8 and 98.6 % for the transplanting system, and
88.7 and 86.5 % for the normal planting system
respectively.
Yield performance among three planting systems
For the first experiment, yields of seedcotton and
seed averaged across three population densities for
each planting system are given in Fig. 1. As
expected, yields of seedcotton and seed in the
transplanting system were significantly higher than
the other two planting systems in both years, while
yields in the early planting system were the lowest.
On a 2-year average, seed yield in the transplant-
ing system was 13.0 and 29.1 % higher than the
2000 a
1500
b c
1000
500
0
Seedcotton Seed
Fig. 1: The effect of planting systems on seed cotton
and seed yields averaged across three planting densities
in 2000 and 2001. Values followed by the same letter are
not significantly different (P ¼ 0.05) according to Dun-
can’s multiple range test
normal planting and the early planting system
respectively.
Interactions on yield between planting system and
plant population density are given in Table 3. For
both years significant differences were detected
among planting pattern and density interactions.
In 2000, the optimum yield for all three planting
systems was obtained with a plant population

Table 2: Soil temperature and cold unit accumulation inside and outside hut at 5 cm depth in early season from
planting to 20 May in 2000–03
Inside hut in the transplanting Outside hut in the early planting Outside hut in the normal planting
system system system
Year Max. (C) Min. (C) Cold units Max. (C) Min. (C) Cold units Max. (C) Min. (C) Cold units
2000 28.5 17.6 0 19.5 12.4 20 28.1 16.8 0
2001 26.8 15.8 0 19.2 8.5 41 25.8 15.2 1
2002 19.9 15.4 0 20.8 11.2 19 19.9 16.1 0
2003 26.4 16.6 0 19.0 14.0 37 26.4 16.4 0

Data in this treatment were collected inside hut before transplanting and outside the hut after transplanting. Cold
units ¼ R (10 C)daily minimum air temperature if £ 10 C) from planting to 20 May.
120 Dong et al.

Table 3: Interactions between planting system and density on yields of seedcotton and seed
Treatment 2000 2001
Designed Final Final
population population Seedcotton Seed population Seedcotton Seed
Planting density density yield yield density yield yield
system (plants m)2) (plants m)2) (kg ha)1) (kg ha)1) (plants m)2) (kg ha)1) (kg ha)1)
TP 3.3 3.13 3121 a 1763 a 3.05 3060 a 1729 a
TP 2.9 2.72 3002 b 1687 b 2.85 3070 a 1734 a
TP 2.3 2.15 2833 c 1597 c 2.20 2780 b 1562 b
NP 3.3 3.18 2825 c 1590 c 3.17 2720 bc 1529 b
NP 2.9 2.65 2743 d 1551 d 2.74 2625 c 1473 c
NP 2.3 2.12 2496 e 1404 e 2.16 2400 d 1342 d
EP 3.3 2.21 2497 e 1398 e 2.15 2462 d 1379 d
EP 2.9 2.02 2212 f 1239 f 2.05 2242 e 1256 e
EP 2.3 1.75 2021 g 1132 g 1.80 2108 e 1180 e

TP, transplanting; NP, normal planting; EP, early planting. Values in each column followed by the same letter are
not significantly different (P ¼ 0.05) according to Duncan’s multiple range test.

density of 3.3 plants m)2. Similar results were also
obtained in 2001, but a plant population density of
3.3 plants m)2 was no better than of 2.9 plants m)2
within the transplanting system in terms of seed
yield. Nevertheless, seed yield with 3.3 plants m)2
in the early planting system was 20.7 and 12.1 % in
2000, and 20.4 and 9.8 % in 2001 lower than that
in the corresponding transplanting and normal
planting system respectively.
Yield components, revenue and seed quality
For the second experiment in 2002 and 2003, yields
of seedcotton and seed, and the number of bolls per
square metre in the transplanting system averaged
across eight experimental sites were significantly
different from those in the normal planting system,
although no significant differences in plant density
(recorded at harvest), lint percentage and boll size
were detected between the two systems (Table 4).
Seedcotton and seed yields, and the number of
bolls per square metre in transplanting system were
increased by 13.3, 13.3 and 12.7 % in 2002, and
14.4, 14.4 and 11.1 % in 2003, respectively, com-
pared with the normal planting system.
Seed quality expressed in seed density and
germination rate was also significantly better in
the transplanting system than in the normal plant-
ing system. As extra management and material
input should be included for seedling nursing and
transplanting, the input value for seed production
in the transplanting system was $203 ha)1 in 2002
and $211 ha)1 higher than that in the normal
planting system, but the net revenue with trans-
planting was still significantly higher (20.8 % in
2002 and 22.5 % in 2003) than in the normal
planting system (Table 5). Increased revenue in the
transplanting system might be attributed to the

Table 4: Differences in yield and yield components of cotton averaged across eight sites between the transplanting
and normal planting system in 2002 and 2003
Population Boll no. Boll Lint Seedcotton Seed yield
Treatment density (plants m)2) (bolls m)2) weight (g) percentage (%) yield (kg ha)1) (kg ha)1)
2002
Transplanting 3.06 55.50 5.40 43.34 3002 1699
Normal planting 3.05 49.25 5.38 43.36 2651 1500
LSD (0.05)* 0.48 3.32 0.20 0.95 194 108
2003
Transplanting 3.07 54.76 5.46 42.76 2989 1711
Normal planting 3.02 49.15 5.34 43.08 2627 1495
LSD (0.05)* 0.32 2.97 0.31 0.76 141 121

*Least significant difference at 5 % error probability.

Transplanting for Enhancing Cotton Hybrid Production
Table 5: Differences in revenue and seed quality between transplanting system and normal planting
system averaged across eight sites in 2002–03
Output Input
Treatment value ($ ha)1) value ($ ha)1)
2002
Transplanting 9569 4189
Normal planting 8441 3986
LSD (0.05)* 528 291
2003
Transplanting 9593 4237
Normal planting 8397 4026
LSD (0.05)* 724 198
*Least significant difference at 5 % error probability.
Input value mainly includes fertilizer, seed, pesticide, irrigation, plastic mulch and labour, and
output value includes values of hybrid seed and lint. Figures were converted from Chinese Yuan to
US$ according to the official foreign exchange rate.
increased seed yield and elevated selling price due
to the improved seed quality parameters.
Blooming patterns
For 4 years, plants in the transplanting system
initiated blooming approximately 7 days earlier
than in the normal planting system. As hand
crossing was ended at the same date for both
systems, the blooming period in transplanting
system was therefore extended by about 1 week
and the peaking blooming was shifted 5 days
earlier in the year than in the normal planting
system (Fig. 2). For both experiments in each year,
the transplanting produced more early-season
blooms than the normal planting.
Discussion
Cotton is an indeterminate plant, but the periods of
flowering and fruit retention are restricted due in
part to unfavourable conditions in late seasons
(Guinn 1985,Gormus and Yucel 2002). Production
systems or cultural practices that either extend
flowering periods or enhance plant growth and
development may result in yield increase. Manage-
ments on cotton with ultra-narrow row spacing
(Jost and Cothren 2000) or super-high plant density
(Wang et al. 2004) can allow the crop to escape late
season weather stress by enhancing ÔearlinessÕ in
specific areas. However, hybrid seed production
depends on hand emasculation and pollination.
Either reduced row space or elevated plant density
may disturb manual work in fields and reduce seed
quality because of canopy closure. Shifting the
121
Net revenue Seed Germination
($ ha)1) density rate (%)
5384 0.917 90.12
4456 0.892 87.45
753 0.013 2.12
5356 0.898 87.69
4371 0.821 82.45
854 0.011 3.52
growing season earlier by planting earlier allows
the crop to bloom earlier (Pettigrew 2002); how-
ever, the risk for exposure of the cotton seedlings to
cold stress and the chance of seedling infections by
soil borne pathogens (Christiansen and Rowland
1986) are increased. Therefore, many recommen-
ded optimum planting windows establish their
earliest planting opportunity based on soil tem-
perature and with the objective to minimize loss
from seedling diseases (Cathey and Meredith 1988,
Bauer et al. 1998, Basavanneppa et al. 2001, Shas-
try et al. 2001). In northern Shandong an optimum
planting date of around 20 April was widely
adopted (Dong et al. 2003). It should be noted
that, however, these early studies were conducted
without using any measures for increasing soil
temperature. The present study conducted in nor-
thern Shandong indicated that early planting in
open fields resulted in poor emergence and inad-
equate stands compared with normal planting due
to lower soil temperature during the early season,
but early planting in the greenhouse-like hut in the
transplanting system provided good emergence and
adequate stands as the normal planting as a result
of the increased soil temperature inside the hut.
Regardless of the increased corresponding input for
hut management and transplanting, planting cot-
ton seed in a greenhouse-like hut during the early
season is a potent way to avoid risks of cold stress
and seedling diseases.
Agronomic practices such as planting date, plant
population densities and planting geometry affect
yield and quality of lint and seed in cotton (Bridge
et al. 1973, Quisenberry and Gipson 1974, Mauney
1980, Kittock et al. 1987). Pettigrew (2002)
122 Dong et al.

Transplanting Bendnarz et al. (2000) reported that cotton yield in

12 Normal planting Georgia was relatively stable across a wide range of
10 population densities. Studies conducted in the
USA, India, China and Egypt showed that optimal
Blooms m–2

8
plant population in terms of lint yield depended
6
upon environment and varieties (El-Shinnawy and
4 Ghaly 1985, Jadhao et al. 1993, Dong et al. 2000,
2 Halemani and Hallikeri 2002). The results in our
0 first experiment showed that yields of seedcotton
and seed in the early planting system was signifi-
12 cantly lower than those in the normal planting
10 system for both 2000 and 2001, which was not in
agreement with Pettigrew (2002) who obtained a
Blooms m–2

8
10 % yield improvement by early planting in
6 Mississippi Delta. The yield decrease might be
4 due to inadequate plant stands caused by poor
emergence and seedling disease during the early
2
season in northern Shandong. Therefore, early
0 planting without specific protection measures can-
not be adopted in northern Shandong. However,
12 yields of seedcotton and seed in the transplanting
10 system were significantly higher than those in the
8
normal planting system. The blooming period in
Blooms m–2

the transplanting system was extended by about

6 1 week longer, and the peak blooming occurred
4 5 days earlier in the year than in the normal
2 planting system. Increased yields and seed quality
by early planting in the transplanting system was
0
greatly attributed to early blooming and the
10
extended blooming period, supporting the hypo-
thesis that shifting flowering period earlier increa-
8 ses yield potential and seed quality of cotton in
Blooms m–2

6 specific areas with limited heat units. Moreover, the

first experiment also showed that interactions on
4 yield between planting system and plant population
2 density were significant. The optimum plant pop-
ulation density involved in the three planting
0 systems was 3.3 plants m)2 in terms of yields of
210 220 230 240 250 260 seedcotton and seed. The result contrasts with the
Day of year report by Bendnarz et al. (2000), but seems to
support other reports that optimum plant density
Fig. 2: White blooms (blooms at anthesis) per square varies with variety, ecological conditions and
metre of ground area in transplanting and normal
planting systems from 2000 to 2003 cultural practices (El-Shinnawy and Ghaly 1985,
Jadhao et al. 1993, Dong et al. 2000).
For the second experiment in both years, yields of
reported that early planting in Mississippi Delta seed cotton and seed, and the number of bolls per
shifted the blooming period earlier in the growing square metre averaged across eight experimental
season, and the early planted cotton demonstrated sites in the transplanting system were significantly
a 10 % yield improvement over the normal planted higher than in the normal planting system, which
crop. Culp et al. (1973) indicated that the number was in agreement with the results of the first
of bolls per unit area was the major contributor to experiment. No significant differences in lint per-
yield increase, and a number of agronomic prac- centage and boll weight were detected between the
tices improved yield via increasing boll numbers. two systems, but the transplanting system provided
Transplanting for Enhancing Cotton Hybrid Production
a significantly higher number of bolls per square
metre than the normal planting system, suggesting
that the transplanting system improve yield via
increasing boll number (Culp et al. 1973). Seed
quality in terms of seed density and germination
rate in the transplanting system was also improved
compared with the normal planting system. The
improvement in seed quality was attributed to the
increased number of early season flowers and bolls
by transplanting. As extra input including labour
and materials was involved in seedling nursing and
transplanting, total input value for seed production
in the transplanting system was higher than in the
normal planting system. However, the output value
in the transplanting system was also significantly
increased as a result of improvement in yield and
quality of hybrid seed, thus the net revenue in the
transplanting system was significantly high than
that in the transplanting system.
Conclusion
In the transplanting system early-season chilling
stress could be avoided by nursing cotton seedlings
in a greenhouse-like hut. The blooming period was
extended by about 1 week and the peak blooming
occurred 5 days earlier in the year in the trans-
planting system than in the normal planting system.
As a result of the increased number of early-season
blooms and bolls per unit area, the transplanting
system could provide over 11 % increase in yields of
seedcotton and seed. Seed quality in terms of seed
density and germination rate was also better in the
transplanting system than in the normal planting
system. Although the input value for seed produc-
tion in the transplanting system was higher than in
the normal planting system, the net revenue with
transplanting was still significantly higher than with
normal planting because of increased seed yield and
quality. The research suggests that using the trans-
planting system may be a potent way to increase
yield and revenue for cotton seed producers in
northern Shandong. The results might be also
helpful to other developing countries with abundant
and cheap labour forces for cotton hybrid seed
production under similar ecological conditions.
Acknowledgements
The study was supported in part by ÔTechnological Service
Project for High-Quality Cotton Production BaseÕ
(2001–05) granted by the Ministry of Agriculture, China.
We greatly acknowledge technicians from SCRC, Jinan,
123
Shandong and Shandong Zhongmian Co. Ltd of Cotton
Industry, Huimin, Shandong, for managing the field trials.
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