Enhancing Growth, Yield, and Quality Potential of Promising Cotton Varieties Through Sowing Date Variations

In a field trial, the impact of varying sowing dates on growth, yield, and quality of chosen cotton varieties was investigated, employing three-replicated Randomized Complete Block Design. Study evaluated Shahbaz-95, Sindh-1, and Malmal cotton varieties across six distinct sowing dates (1-April, 15-April, 1-May, 15-May, 1-June and 15-June). There was substantial influence of both varieties and sowing dates on growth and yield attributes. This effect was apparent across all traits except monopodial branches. Notably, 15-April sown cotton displayed the most vigorous performance, with a plant height of 127.93 cm, 1.56 monopodia, 21.44 sympodia, 47 bolls, 130.67 g seed cotton weight plant-1, 36.02% G.O.T., 27.4 mm staple length, and a seed cotton yield of 3586.1 kg ha-1. The 1-April sowing ranked 2nd, resulting plant height of 126.67 cm, 1.56 monopodia, 21.33 sympodia, 46.44 bolls, 128.89 g seed cotton weight plant-1, 35.66% G.O.T., 27.28 mm staple length, and a seed cotton yield of 3561.8 kg ha-1. Cotton sown on 1-May, 15-May, 1-June and 15-June displayed reduced overall performance. Among varieties, Shahbaz-95 exhibited improved performance with plant height of 127.39 cm, 1.61 monopodia, 21.22 sympodia, 46.78 bolls, 129.72 g seed cotton weight plant-1, 35.71% G.O.T., 26.30 mm staple length, and a seed cotton yield of 3539.40 kg ha-1. In conclusion, the study underscores that sowing cotton up to 15-April optimally enhances growth, yield, and quality traits, with each subsequent fortnight delay resulting in simultaneous decline across all evaluated attributes. Shahbaz-95 is recommended for superior crop yields, while Malmal is preferred for promising staple length.