Effect of Irrigation Intervals on the Yield and Fibre Characteristics of Cotton Genotypes

Cotton is a life line of Pakistan’s economy. Drought stress is the major ecological factor that negatively impacts cotton yield and quality. A field experiment was conducted in 2016 at Cotton Research Station, Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan to evaluate the effects of four moisture regimes on yield and fiber characteristics of two cotton genotypes. The experiment was laid out in split-plot within a randomized complete block design with three replications. Four irrigation intervals namely I1 (10 days interval), I2 (15 days interval), I3 (20 days interval) and I4 (25 days interval) were allotted to main plots while cotton genotypes (CIM-602 and CIM-616) were assigned to subplots having 10 m×3 m. Results revealed that cotton crop irrigated at 20 days interval showed greater bolls per plant; weight per boll; seed cotton yield and ginning out-turn (GOT %). The results further showed that the genotype CIM-602 gave optimum yield owing bolls per plant, weight per boll, GOT % plus higher staple length compared to CIM-616 at 20 days irrigation interval. Thus it was concluded that the genotype-CIM-602 irrigated at 20 days interval suited well to the study area and had the potential to optimize cotton yield and quality in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan.