Cotton Canopy Management: A Review of Topping and Pruning Techniques to Enhance Yield and Quality

Cotton is a significant cash crop globally, so optimizing the yield and quality of fibre is crucial for its sustainability. Managing canopy architecture and planting density in cotton is important because it affects light interception, humidity and temperature that are crucial for boll development and yield. Improper management adversely affects boll numbers, weight and boll setting rates. The present review highlights canopy management and planting density as the critical factors in enhancing productivity and optimizing the microenvironment in the cotton canopy. High-density planting maximizes light interception and lint yield by increasing bolls per unit area. However, excessive density can lead to reduced yield due to increased competition within plants. Furthermore, by managing canopy structure with pruning, chemical topping and manual topping, plant canopy can maintain a beneficial microclimate that is essential for higher yield. It also explains the importance of canopy microclimate, including air temperature, relative humidity and light interception in the development of bolls and fibre quality. By optimizing canopy architecture and planting density farmers can achieve higher yields and maintain fibre quality hence contributing to the global significance of cotton as a cash crop.