Abstract
Due to the labor shortage, replacing manual topping with chemical topping has become an important practice in cotton-producing areas such as Xinjiang, China. Similarly, increasing planting density is a common strategy to enhance cotton yields. This study aimed to quantify the interactive effects of chemical topping and planting density on cotton growth and assimilate partitioning. To achieve this, a two-year (2020–2021) field experiment was conducted in Xinjiang, China. The main plots were assigned low (15 plants m−2) or high plant density (25 plants m−2), and the subplots were chemical topping using heavy amounts of mepiquat chloride (MC) or manual topping. The dynamics of dry matter accumulation and partitioning in cotton were well quantified using a beta-growth function with an overall nRMSE of 11.5%. Results indicated that chemical topping increased aboveground dry matter maximum by 4.88%, fruit dry matter maximum by 17.9% and seed cotton yield by 14.0% compared to manual topping. At low plant density, the partitioning index between vegetative and reproductive organs showed no significant differences. However, at high plant density, the time when 50% of assimilate partitioning to reproductive organs for chemical topping was 2.6 physiological days (under optimal temperature conditions) delayed than that for manual topping, resulting in a 2.7 physiological days delay in the time that fruits reached maximum growth rate. The results of the study suggest that applying chemicals for topping a little earlier in high-density planting could reduce the negative effects of delayed boll growth and promote carbon assimilate partitioning to fruit growth.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record; open copy licensed cc-by. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Chemical topping increased cotton aboveground dry matter maximum by 4.88% compared with manual topping.
- Taxon
- cotton
Gossypium hirsutume2 - Treatment
- chemical toppinge1
- Outcome
- aboveground dry matter maximume1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Value
- 4.88%e1
- Comparator
- manual toppinge1
- Setting
- Xinjiang, Chinae2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Results indicated that chemical topping increased aboveground dry matter maximum by 4.88%, fruit dry matter maximum by 17.9% and seed cotton yield by 14.0% compared to manual topping”
e2“cotton-producing areas such as Xinjiang, China”
Claim · model-written summary
Chemical topping increased cotton fruit dry matter maximum by 17.9% compared with manual topping.
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutume2
- Treatment
- chemical toppinge1
- Outcome
- fruit dry matter maximume1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Value
- 17.9%e1
- Comparator
- manual toppinge1
- Setting
- Xinjiang, Chinae2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Results indicated that chemical topping increased aboveground dry matter maximum by 4.88%, fruit dry matter maximum by 17.9% and seed cotton yield by 14.0% compared to manual topping”
e2“cotton-producing areas such as Xinjiang, China”
Claim · model-written summary
Chemical topping increased seed cotton yield by 14.0% compared with manual topping.
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutume2
- Treatment
- chemical toppinge1
- Outcome
- seed cotton yielde1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Value
- 14.0%e1
- Comparator
- manual toppinge1
- Setting
- Xinjiang, Chinae2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Results indicated that chemical topping increased aboveground dry matter maximum by 4.88%, fruit dry matter maximum by 17.9% and seed cotton yield by 14.0% compared to manual topping”
e2“cotton-producing areas such as Xinjiang, China”
Claim · model-written summary
At low planting density, chemical and manual topping showed no significant difference in the partitioning index between vegetative and reproductive organs.
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutume3
- Treatment
- chemical toppinge2
- Outcome
- partitioning index between vegetative and reproductive organse1
- Direction
- no significant differencese1
- Qualifier
- At low plant densitye1
- Comparator
- manual toppinge2
- Setting
- Xinjiang, Chinae3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“At low plant density, the partitioning index between vegetative and reproductive organs showed no significant differences”
e2“Results indicated that chemical topping increased aboveground dry matter maximum by 4.88%, fruit dry matter maximum by 17.9% and seed cotton yield by 14.0% compared to manual topping”
e3“cotton-producing areas such as Xinjiang, China”
Claim · model-written summary
At high planting density, chemical topping delayed by 2.6 physiological days the time when 50% of assimilate partitioned to reproductive organs, compared with manual topping.
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutume2
- Treatment
- chemical toppinge1
- Outcome
- the time when 50% of assimilate partitioning to reproductive organse1
- Direction
- delayede1
- Value
- 2.6 physiological dayse1
- Qualifier
- at high plant densitye1
- Comparator
- manual toppinge1
- Setting
- Xinjiang, Chinae2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“However, at high plant density, the time when 50% of assimilate partitioning to reproductive organs for chemical topping was 2.6 physiological days (under optimal temperature conditions) delayed than that for manual topping”
e2“cotton-producing areas such as Xinjiang, China”
Claim · model-written summary
At high planting density, chemical topping delayed by 2.7 physiological days the time when fruits reached maximum growth rate.
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutume3
- Treatment
- chemical toppinge2
- Outcome
- the time that fruits reached maximum growth ratee1
- Direction
- delaye1
- Value
- 2.7 physiological dayse1
- Qualifier
- at high plant densitye2
- Comparator
- manual toppinge2
- Setting
- Xinjiang, Chinae3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“resulting in a 2.7 physiological days delay in the time that fruits reached maximum growth rate”
e2“However, at high plant density, the time when 50% of assimilate partitioning to reproductive organs for chemical topping was 2.6 physiological days (under optimal temperature conditions) delayed than that for manual topping”
e3“cotton-producing areas such as Xinjiang, China”
Claim · model-written summary
The beta-growth function quantified cotton dry matter accumulation and partitioning well, with an overall nRMSE of 11.5%.
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutume2
- Outcome
- overall nRMSEe1
- Value
- 11.5%e1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“The dynamics of dry matter accumulation and partitioning in cotton were well quantified using a beta-growth function with an overall nRMSE of 11.5%”
e2“cotton-producing areas such as Xinjiang, China”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors suggest that topping chemicals applied a little earlier in high-density planting could reduce the negative effects of delayed boll growth.
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutume2
- Outcome
- applying chemicals for topping a little earlier in high-density plantinge1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“applying chemicals for topping a little earlier in high-density planting could reduce the negative effects of delayed boll growth”
e2“cotton-producing areas such as Xinjiang, China”
The same questions in other papers
pruning · yield · Gossypium hirsutum (cotton)Results differ
48 papers in the same direction as this paper · 23 in the opposite direction · 4 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
- no effect
- no effect
72 papers more in this group
See all 76 papers →pruning · growth · Gossypium hirsutum (cotton)Positive and negative results
20 papers in the same direction as this paper · 6 in the opposite direction
- positive
- negative
- negative
23 papers more in this group
See all 27 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.