Engineering canopy architecture with enhanced yield through variety, geometry alterations and PGRs suiting mechanized cotton cultivation

Engineering canopy architecture with enhanced yield through variety, geometry alterations and PGRs suiting mechanized cotton cultivation | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Engineering canopy architecture with enhanced yield through variety, geometry alterations and PGRs suiting mechanized cotton cultivation Paramasivam Dhamodharan, SELVARAJ Somasundaram, KANDASAMY Thirukumaran, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4586096/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background With increasing labor challenges, achieving complete mechanization in cotton cultivation has become an urgent necessity in India. For mechanized cotton cultivation, it is necessary to have appropriate variety with designed canopy architecture. The required canopy architecture with higher seed cotton yield may be attained through optimizing crop geometry and spraying of plant growth regulators like mepiquat chloride. Also, application of mepiquat chloride alters canopy architecture in cotton by creating a more compact canopy suited for mechanization. In this study, we have optimized the different crop geometries and also studied the growth and yield potential of different desi varieties viz. , CO 17, VPT 2 and Suraksha with respect to plant growth regulators. This study mainly deals with growth, physiology, dry matter production and yield of each compact cultivars by application of plant growth regulators grown under diverse spatial patterns. Results Among the three varieties tested, Suraksha variety significantly recorded optimum plant height, accumulated more dry matter in fruiting bodies, produced more sympodial branches and boll numbers per plant, and higher seed cotton yield compared to CO 17 and VPT 2 varieties. Increased plant densities significantly increased the dry matter production because of higher plant population per unit area. However, wider spacing of 90 cm significantly recorded greater plant height, more sympodial branches and boll numbers per plant, and seed cotton yield compared to narrow spacing of 70 cm. The combined application of mepiquat chloride with cyclanilide @ 400 ppm at square initiation and boll development stages had significantly increased the sympodial branches and number of bolls per plant, accumulated more biomass content in fruiting bodies and increased seed cotton yield, whereas application of mepiquat chloride alone accumulated more biomass content in vegetative parts and recorded greater plant height, and internodal distance. Conclusion Suraksha variety sown under spacing 90 x 15 cm and treated with mepiquat chloride with cyclanilide @ 400 ppm at square initiation and boll development stages resulted in higher number of bolls per plant, boll weight and seed cotton yield under mechanized cultivation. This combination also produced a desired plant architecture suitable for mechanical harvesting. Cotton Compact variety Crop geometry Mepiquat chloride Dry matter Growth HDPS Mechanization Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Introduction India's cotton production, accounting for 60% of fiber used in textiles, faced a 2% decrease in area and a 5% decrease in production during 2023-24 due to farmers shifting acreage to more profitable crops (Prasad et al., 2023 ). The major challenges identified in cotton productivity includes higher input costs and labor-intensive management practices (Gadade et al., 2015 ). To tackle these challenges, mechanized cotton cultivation could be adopted with compact genotypes to enhance productivity under high-density planting system is proposed. This approach, successfully employed in various countries like Brazil, China, Australia, Spain, Argentina, and Greece (Narayana et al ., 2018; Ali et al., 2010 ), aims to optimize profitability amidst rising production costs (Celsia and Babu, 2023 ). Specific cotton varieties such as CSH 3075, CO 15, CO 17, Suraj, Suraksha, and VPT 2 have been developed for HDPS cultivation in India. These compact genotypes are advantageous for machine harvesting and high-density planting due to their short stature and synchronous maturity. High-Density Planting System (HDPS) in cotton involves planting cotton crops at higher densities with a target of achieving 1–2 lakh cotton plants per hectare to maximize yield and efficiency. This alteration in crop geometry allows for a greater number of plants per hectare, each potentially bearing 8–14 bolls, directly influencing seed cotton yield (Priyadarshini et al., 2023 ; Parlawar et al., 2017 ; Madavi et al., 2017 ). Increased plant density has shown benefits for cotton yield, particularly in fields with lower fertility (Sankaranarayanan et al., 2018 ). However, inappropriate planting density, either too low or too high, can pose risks to yield formation (Khan et al., 2020 ). Higher plant populations enhance resource use efficiency (Tung et al., 2018 ) as they can lead to smaller cotton plants resulting reduced boll load, and delayed late-season leaf senescence (Luo et al., 2018 ), whereas lower plant density results in resource wastage (Singh et al., 2023 ), while higher density limits individual plant growth and reduces yield profitability and input use efficiency (Prasad et al., 2023 ; Nalayini and Manickam, 2018 ). Thus, achieving an optimal plant stand is crucial for maximizing yields under HDPS. To ensure mechanical harvesting suitability, compact canopy architecture with ideal plant heights less than 120 cm for spindle pickers and less than 80 cm for stripper pickers is warranted (Wang et al., 2016 ). The ideal cotton plant architecture traits amenable for mechanical harvesting is depicted in Fig. 1 . Apart from plant height, traits like uniformity, shorter sympodial branch length without monopodia, synchronized flowering, and uniform boll bursting are essential for mechanical harvesting (Veeraputhiran et al ., 2019). The application of mepiquat chloride holds significant potential for mechanized cotton farming. Recent studies indicates that applying MC at specific growth stages can enhance harvesting efficiency and improve lint yield and fiber quality in cotton plants (Srikala et al., 2023 ; Murtza et al., 2022 ). Moreover, MC has demonstrated effectiveness in regulating vegetative growth, increasing cotton yield, and enhancing fiber quality when applied at the appropriate growth stages (Long et al., 2021 ; Chalise et al. , 2023). Additionally, MC treatments have been shown to decelerate cotton growth, offering advantages for canopy management and mechanical harvesting, particularly in conjunction with other chemicals like cyclanilide (Sultana et al., 2023 ). Now studies are initiated with combined application of mepiquat chloride (gibberellic acid inhibitor) and chemicals like cyclanilide (auxin promoter) to improve the yield in cotton under HDPS. In summary, the strategic application of mepiquat chloride in cotton farming has the potential to enhance efficiency, increase yield, and improve fiber quality, thereby serving as a valuable asset for mechanized cotton farming. However, research on applying growth retardants under high-density planting, which could lead to synchronized crop maturity and uniform plant height, facilitating large-scale mechanical harvesting of seed cotton, is limited. With this backdrop, this study aims to assess suitable varieties, determine the optimal plant population required for cotton under HDPS, and investigate the effects of growth regulators on growth and physiological parameters, source-sink relationships, yield of mechanized cotton cultivation under the high-density planting system. Materials and methods Experimentation details Two field experiments were conducted at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Cotton Research Station, Veppanthattai, (latitude 11°34’ N, longitude 78°80’ E) during the summer and winter seasons of 2023-24. Each experiment was triplicated with split-split plot design having three factors. The experiment was conducted with three varieties (V 1 - CO 17, V 2 - VPT 2, V 3 - Suraksha) in main plots, four plant spacings (S 1 - 90 x 15 cm, S 2 - 70 x 15 cm, S 3 - 90 x 10 cm, S 4 - 70 x 10 cm) in sub-plots, and two plant growth regulators (G 1 - mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm, G 2 - mepiquat chloride + cyclanilide @ 400 ppm) in sub-sub plots. The plant growth regulator was applied at square initiation and boll formation stages. These selected cultivars had compact plant type, possesses zero monopodia with short sympodial length suited for HDPS. The results of pre sown soil analysis showed slightly saline with normal electrical conductivity, low nitrogen content, medium phosphorus content, medium potassium content, and medium organic carbon. Crop management Sowing was performed by a pneumatic precision planter with seed rate of 10 kg ha − 1 . The recommended fertilizer dose of 100:50:50 NPK kg ha − 1 was applied. Nitrogen potassium fertilizers were applied in two identical splits at the time of seedbed preparation and the start of flowering. Phosphorus fertilizer was broadcast during seedbed preparation. Life irrigation after three days of sowing and crop need based irrigation was provided. Pendimethalin 30% EC was applied at a rate of 3.3 l /ha for pre-emergence weed control. This was followed by intercultural operations using a power weeder at 25 and 45 days after sowing (DAS). For controlling sucking pests, Acephate 75% SP @ 20 g/10 litres of water, Imidacloprid 17.8% SL @ 40 ml/10 litres of water, Fipronil 5% SC @ 30 ml/10 litres of water were applied at 45 and 65 DAS by using tractor mounted boom sprayer. Spraying of defoliant Dropp ultra @ 250 ml/ha to promote crop earliness, better boll retention and to facilitate mechanical harvesting. Spindle type cotton harvester was engaged for mechanical harvesting of cotton. Data collection Ten plants were randomly selected and labeled to record the growth and yield parameters in each experimental plot. Growth parameters including plant height, number of monopodial and sympodial branches, length of sympodia and internodal distance between third to fourth nodes were measured from the selected plants from each plot. Destructive plant samples were oven-dried at 70°C until a constant weight was achieved and then weighed. The total weight of above-ground biomass partitioned into leaves and stems as vegetative biomass and fruiting bodies (squares, flowers, green and mature bolls) as reproductive biomass and was recorded. The harvested bolls were air-dried to obtain moisture contents below 11%, and the weight of individual bolls was measured to obtain the average boll weight. The seed cotton was picked from the whole plot and then the yield was converted into kg ha − 1 . Dry matter accumulation at different stages was assessed by calculating the crop growth rate (CGR) using the formula: \(CGR=\frac{ \text{W}2– \text{W}1}{\text{t}2 – \text{t}1}\text{X}\frac{1}{\text{P}}\) ------------------ (1) where W₁, W₂ represent the plant dry matter weight (g/m²) at times t₁ and t₂ (days of interval) respectively. Statistical analysis Statistical Analysis Data were statistically analysed following the procedure given by Gomez and Gomez (2010). The variance analysis was performed using Duncan’s new multiple-range test in SPSS 17.0.. All graphs were drawn with MS Excel. The means were analyzed using the least significant difference (LSD) test at 5% probability. Treatments where the difference is not significant are denoted as NS. Results Growth parameters The growth data analysis resulted in a significant differences among varieties sown under different plant spacings and growth regulators, as presented in Table 1 . CO 17 and Suraksha varieties recorded higher plant height during summer and winter seasons respectively. Pooled data showed that both CO 17 and Suraksha varieties were 4.7% and 4.5% taller than VPT 2. For plant spacing, the analysis of variance using the pooled data at harvest stage revealed that the spacing of 90 x 15 cm had the highest effect on plant height with 4.6%, 8.6%, and 13.6% taller than 70 x 15 cm, 90 x 10cm and 70 x 10 cm spacings respectively. Plants treated with mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm were found to be 7.6% taller than treatment with the combination of mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm. The number of sympodial branches was significantly higher in variety Suraksha and was on par with CO 17, in turn the later was comparable with VPT 2. Wider row spacing of 90 x15 cm resulted in 19.3% more number of sympodial branches as compared to narrow row spacing of 70 x 10 cm. Compared to mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm alone, there was a significant increase in the number of sympodial branches plant − 1 when mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm were used with values of 23.7 and 25. 8 during summer and winter respectively. Regarding sympodial length, pooled data showed that there is no significant difference was found with varieties, plant spacing and PGRs. Significant difference in internodal distance was absent among compact varieties and the average internodal distance in the study was 3.7 cm. There is no significant difference in internodal distance found with various plant spacing. Application of mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm resulted in 10.2% more internodal length than combination of mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm. Crop growth rate (CGR) was illustrated in Fig. 2 and was found to be progressively increasing till 60 DAS and gets peak during 60–90 DAS. Crop growth rate of CO 17 and Suraksha was almost similar at all growth stages and the minimum crop growth rate was observed in VPT 2. Regarding plant spacings, higher CGR value of 11.8 g/m 2 /day were found with spacing of 70 x 10 cm and the minimum growth rate was observed with 90 x 15 cm. Higher growth rate was observed at greater plant densities and was found to be sudden decrease during 45–60 DAS and observed steep increase in the crop growth rate after 60 DAS. Application of mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm retards the crop growth rate (7.01 g/m 2 /day) at 60 DAS and was found to be declining compared to mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm alone. Absolute growth rate (AGR) was found to be similar with crop growth rate among varieties, progressively increasing till 60 DAS and gets peak during 60–90 DAS. Regarding plant spacings, higher growth rate value of 1.2 g/m 2 /plant were found with wide spacing of 90 x 15 cm and the minimum growth rate was observed with narrow spacing of 70 x 10 cm. Increasing plant densities with 70 x 10 cm resulted in the decreased growth during 45–60 DAS and observed sudden increase in the growth rate after 60 DAS. Regarding plant growth regulators, application of mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm retards the growth rate (0.71 g/m 2 /plant) at 60 DAS and was found to be declining compared to mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm alone. Biomass partitioning (g m − 2 ) The impact of compact cotton varieties, plant spacings and plant growth regulators on biomass content of leaves, stem and fruiting bodies were given in Table 2 . Pooled data showed that maximum biomass in leaf parts was recorded in Suraksha with 443.6 g m − ² which was statistically on par with CO 17 (436.5 g m − ²), followed by VPT 2 (374.4 g m − ²). On the other hand, CO 17 accumulated higher biomass in the stem, which was 493.0 g m-² and was on par with Suraksha which recorded 478. 9 g m − ², followed by VPT 2. Similarly, CO 17 produced higher biomass in the fruiting bodies (374.7 g m − ²), followed by Suraksha (366.8 g m − ²) and VPT 2 (330.0 g m − ²). Hence, Suraksha and CO 17 accumulated 12.6% and 13.6% more total above ground biomass compared to VPT 2. Regarding plant spacings, narrow spacing of 70 x 10 cm accumulated more biomass content of 512.8 g m − ² and 570.4 g m − ² in leaves and stems respectively. Whereas, wider spacing of 90 x 10 cm, 70 x 15 cm, and 90 x 15 cm accumulated 13.3%, 11.6%, and 11.2% more biomass in the fruiting bodies than 70 x 10 cm (325.0 g m − ²). Hence, plants sown with spacing of 70 x 10 cm significantly recorded the maximum biomass accumulation of 1408.3 g m − ², followed by 90 x 10 cm (1381.6 g m − ²), 70 x 15 cm (1205.5 g m − ²), and 90 x 15 cm (1117.6 g m − ²). It was found that narrow row spacing of 70 x 10 cm accumulated 24.8%, 17.6%, and 7.0% more biomass compared to spacings of 90 x 15 cm, 70 x 15 cm, and 90 x 10 cm, respectively. Significant effect was observed with application of mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm resulted in more biomass production in the leaves (446.6 g m − ²) and stems (496.6 g m − ²). Similarly, the combined application of mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm significantly led to higher biomass content in the fruiting bodies (371.8 g m − ²). It was found that cotton plants treated with mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm alone produced 7.0% more total above ground biomass than combined application of mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm. The interaction component for all the three variables were found non-significant. Table 1 Effect of compact varieties, plant spacings and growth regulators on the growth parameters of HDPS cotton Variety Treatments Plant height Number of sympodial plant − 1 Sympodial length (cm) Internodal distance (cm) Summer Winter Pooled Summer Winter Pooled Summer Winter Pooled Summer Winter Pooled V 1 - CO 17 89.1 a 90.0 b 89.8 a 23.9 ab 23.4 ab 23.7 ab 18.0 a 18.3 a 18.1 a 3.7 a 3.6 a 3.7 a V 2 - VPT 2 82.0 b 85.2 bc 85.6 b 20.1 b 22.5 b 21.3 b 19.0 a 18.7 a 18.8 a 4.0 a 3.9 a 3.9 a V 3 - Suraksha 83.1 b 96.2 a 89.6 ab 24.2 a 25.8 a 25.0 a 17.2 a 17.7 a 17.5 a 3.7 a 3.5 a 3.6 a SEd 2.0 2.0 1.7 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.5 1.6 1.6 0.4 0.2 0.2 CD (p = 0.05) 5.4 5.4 3.6 2.0 2.0 2.0 NS NS NS NS NS NS Spacing (cm) S 1 − 90 x 15cm 92.2 a 97.2 a 94.7 a 25.0 a 27.6 a 26.4 a 19.2 a 19.2 a 19.2 a 3.3 c 3.6 a 3.5 b S 2 − 70 x 15cm 87.2 b 93.7 a 90.4 b 22.2 ab 20.8 c 24.1 b 16.0 ab 17.2 a 17.2 a 4.0 ab 3.6 a 3.8 a S 3 − 90 x 10cm 81.4 c 91.7 a 86.6 b 23.2 bc 24.9 b 21.6 c 18.6 a 18.9 a 18.8 a 3.6 bc 3.8 a 3.8 a S 4 − 70 x 10cm 78.4 c 83.5 b 81.9 c 20.4 c 22.0 c 21.3 c 14.3 b 17.5 a 17.4 a 4.2 a 3.6 a 3.9 a SEd 2.3 2.7 1.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.7 1.8 1.8 0.2 0.2 0.1 CD (p = 0.05) 4.8 5.6 3.9 2.0 2.0 1.9 3.0 NS NS 0.4 NS NS Plant Growth Retardant G 1 – MC @ 150 ppm 88.4 a 95.3 a 91.9 a 21.7 b 22.5 b 22.2 b 18.9 a 19.0 a 17.3 a 3.9 a 3.9 a 3.9 a G 2 – MC + C @ 400 ppm 81.1 b 88.6 b 84.9 b 23.7 a 25.8 a 24.4 a 16.5 b 17.3 a 19.0 a 3.6 b 3.5 b 3.5 b SEd 1.3 1.3 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.7 1.1 1.0 1.0 0.2 0.2 0.2 CD (p = 0.05) 2.5 2.7 2.0 1.5 1.6 1.5 2.2 NS NS 0.3 0.3 0.3 Interaction Varieties x Spacing NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS Varieties x PGR NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS Spacing x PGR NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS Varieties x Spacing x PGR NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS Table 2 Effect of compact varieties, plant spacings and growth regulators on biomass partitioning (g m − 2 ) of HDPS cotton Variety Treatments Biomass in leaves Biomass in stem Biomass in fruiting bodies Total above ground biomass Summer Winter Pooled Summer Winter Pooled Summer Winter Pooled Summer Winter Pooled V 1 - CO 17 391.0 a 482.0 a 436.5 a 516.2 a 470.3 a 493.0 a 357.7 a 391.7 a 374.7 a 1264.8 a 1343.6 a 1304.2 a V 2 - VPT 2 335.4 b 413.5 b 374.5 b 442.7 c 403.5 b 422.9 b 307.0 c 353.3 b 330.0 c 1085.2 c 1169.8 b 1127.5 b V 3 - Suraksha 399.8 a 487.5 a 443.6 a 482.6 b 475.3 a 478.9 a 332.8 b 400.8 a 366.8 b 1215.3 b 1363.5 a 1289.4 a SEd 15.6 18.7 12.0 17.8 18.3 12.6 5.3 7.2 2.4 16.0 38.1 26.3 CD (p = 0.05) 36.5 52.0 33.4 35.1 50.7 35.6 14.8 18.8 6.8 44.6 105.8 73.0 Spacing (cm) S 1 − 90 x 15cm 294.6 d 361.5 d 328.0 d 377.2 d 352.5 d 364.8 d 328.2 b 403.3 a 365.9 a 1000.0 d 1117.6 d 1058.8 d S 2 − 70 x 15cm 337.0 c 413.8 c 375.4 c 430.6 c 403.6 c 417.1 c 347.0 a 388.2 a 367.6 a 1114.8 c 1205.5 c 1160.2 c S 3 − 90 x 10cm 409.8 b 503.2 b 456.5 b 524.2 b 490.7 b 507.5 b 352.7 a 387.6 a 370.2 a 1286.8 b 1381.6 b 1334.2 b S 4 − 70 x 10cm 460.3 a 565.3 a 512.8 a 589.7 a 551.2 a 570.4 a 302.0 c 348.0 b 325.0 b 1351.9 a 1464.6 a 1408.3 a SEd 16.6 18.7 7.7 18.5 18.5 8.5 7.4 10.0 5.4 17.0 22.3 18.7 CD (p = 0.05) 34.0 38.4 16.2 47.8 47.9 17.9 14.5 20.3 11.5 35.5 46.8 39.3 Plant Growth Retardant G 1 – MC @ 150 ppm 401.2 a 492.2 a 446.6 a 513.3 a 480.2 a 496.6 a 317.2 b 368.0 b 342.6 b 1231.5 a 1340.2 a 1285.8 a G 2 – MC + C @ 400 ppm 349.8 b 429.3 b 389.8 b 447.6 b 419.0 b 433.3 b 347.9 a 395.7 a 371.8 a 1145.3 b 1244.5 b 1194.9 b SEd 25.0 26.0 5.5 16.2 18.5 6.2 6.0 6.2 4.8 13.0 13.5 12.6 CD (p = 0.05) 40.3 42.4 11.3 32.8 32.1 12.4 12.1 17.2 9.8 26.7 27.9 26.2 Interaction Varieties x Spacing NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS Varieties x PGR NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS Spacing x PGR NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS Varieties x Spacing x PGR NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS Table 3 Effect of compact varieties, plant spacings and growth regulators on yield attributes and seed cotton yield (kg ha − 1 ) of HDPS cotton Variety Treatments Bolls/m 2 Boll weight (g) Seed cotton yield (kg ha − 1 ) Summer Winter Pooled Summer Winter Pooled Summer Winter Pooled V 1 - CO 17 72.1 a 65.5 a 68.9 a 3.8 c 4.0 b 3.8 c 2256 b 2178 b 2217 b V 2 - VPT 2 65.2 b 65.6 a 65.5 b 4.0 b 4.0 b 3.9 b 2167 c 2171 b 2169 b V 3 - Suraksha 70.8 a 67.3 a 69.5 a 4.1 a 4.2 a 4.1 a 2415 a 2348 a 2382 a SEd 1.3 1.5 1.2 0.03 0.04 0.03 27 29 23 CD (p = 0.05) 3.5 NS NS 0.08 0.11 0.09 76 82 64 Spacing (cm) S 1 − 90 x 15 cm 70.9 a 68.6 a 69.7 a 4.1 a 4.2 a 4.1 a 2421 a 2405 a 2413 a S 2 − 70 x 15 cm 67.6 b 63.7 b 65.6 b 4.1 a 4.2 a 4.1 a 2310 b 2260 b 2285 b S 3 − 90 x 10 cm 73.2 a 69.5 a 71.4 a 3.8 b 3.9 b 3.8 b 2303 b 2255 b 2279 b S 4 − 70 x 10 cm 66.2 b 62.8 b 64.5 b 3.8 b 3.8 b 3.8 b 2084 c 2010 c 2047 c SEd 1.4 1.8 1.5 0.06 0.05 0.04 30 40 29 CD (p = 0.05) 3.0 4.0 3.2 0.12 0.11 0.09 64 84 68 Plant Growth Retardant G 1 – MC @ 150 ppm 69.3 a 65.1 b 67.3 a 3.8 b 3.8 b 3.8 b 2184 b 2151 b 2167 b G 2 – MC + C @ 400 ppm 69.6 a 67.3 a 68.2 a 4.2 a 4.2 a 4.2 a 2375 a 2314 a 2345 a SEd 1.0 0.9 0.7 0.05 0.04 0.04 15 22 11 CD (p = 0.05) NS 1.9 NS 0.11 0.09 0.08 30 46 25 Interaction Varieties x Spacing NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS Varieties x PGR * * * NS NS NS * NS NS Spacing x PGR NS NS NS NS NS NS * NS * Varieties x Spacing x PGR NS NS NS NS NS NS * NS NS Yield attributes and seed cotton yield Significant differences in boll numbers, boll weight and seed cotton yield were observed among compact varieties, plant spacings, and growth regulators and illustrated in Table 3 . Pooled data showed that Suraksha variety produced 69.5 bolls/m 2 with boll weight of 4.1 g and higher seed cotton of 2382 kg ha − 1 . Suraksha yielded 7.0% and 9.0% more seed cotton yield than CO 17 and VPT 2 respectively. Regarding planting pattern, a row spacing of 90 x 10 cm significantly resulted in higher bolls/m 2 (71.4) and was statistically on par with 90 x 15 cm (69.7), followed by 70 x 15 cm and 70 x 10 cm. Higher boll weight was obtained with spacing of 90 x 15 cm (4.1 g) and 70 x 15 cm (4.1 g), followed by 90 x 10 cm and 70 x 10 cm. Similarly, higher seed cotton yield of 2413 kg ha − 1 was obtained with the spacing of 90 x 15 cm, followed by 70 x 15 cm which was comparable with 90 x 10 cm. Regarding growth regulators, pooled data showed that mepiquat chloride and cyclanide @ 400 ppm produced 68.2 bolls/m 2 and significantly increased 9.5% more boll weight, 7.6% more seed cotton yield than mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm alone. The p-value was found to be 0.04238 for interaction component of varieties and PGR and the results were found significant (p = 0.05). Similarly, another interaction component of spacing and PGR for seed cotton yield (p-value = 0.00093) were found significant (p = 0.01). Discussion Mechanization especially in cotton is influenced by various factors such as cotton varieties, plant spacing, and the application of growth regulators like mepiquat chloride (Nayra et al., 2018 ). The choice of cotton variety and their characteristics of the crop, such as plant height, canopy width, number of branches, boll dimensions, and bracts angle, significantly influence the performance of cotton pickers (Nowrouzieh et al. , 2022). Similarly, different plant spacing can affect growth parameters, yield attributes, and seed cotton yield and play a crucial role in determining the performance of mechanical harvesters (Rupinder and Karun, 2022; Khadija et al., 2022 ). Studies have shown that the use of mepiquat chloride can significantly impact plant morphological traits, yield improvement, and fiber quality in cotton, leading to enhanced harvesting efficiency (Dharani et al., 2022 ; Uma Maheswari et al. , 2019). Moreover, growth-retarding chemicals and defoliants have been realized to affect plant attributes such as the size of the leaves, height, and boll number and thus the yield and fiber quality, hence optimizing mechanical harvesting of cotton (Kohli et al., 2012). Our study concluded that significant differences in plant height among compact varieties might be due to morphology traits of those particular varieties. Varietal differences play a crucial role in the regulation of plant height, emphasizing the genetic influence on plant structure (Boquet, 2005 ; Li et al., 2020 ). Similarly, it was concluded that increasing plant densities per unit area (70 x10 cm) decreased the plant height of crop. Wider row spacing of 90 cm increased the plant height in comparison to a narrow spacing 70 cm spacing (Dong et al., 2005 ; Maheswari and Krishnasamy, 2019 ; Yang et al., 2014 ). This might be possibly because of increased competition for resources like sunlight, water, and nutrients in the limited space (Zhi et al., 2016 ; Khan et al., 2017 ; Zaman et al., 2021 ; Ibrahim et al., 2022 ). Increased vegetative growth causes shadowing inside the canopy, resulting in fruit abscission and a decrease in yield. MC application altered the plant canopy and increased the cotton yield by increasing air flow. Our results showed that spraying of mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm were found to be 7.6% taller than mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm at square formation stage and boll development stage. Maximum reduction in plant height by application of MC + C @ 400 ppm could be justified by its synergizing or enhancing effect on the activity of mepiquat chloride as observed by Soares et al. (2016). Cyclanilide may boost the effectiveness of a gibberellin biosynthesis inhibitor like mepiquat chloride. Mepiquat chloride inhibits gibberellin production by inducing enzymes to metabolise the inactive form GA 20 to the active form GA 1. Almeida et al. (2012) found that plant growth inhibitors can diminish internodal length and vegetative development by delaying cell division and elongation of plant aerial parts, as well as restricting gibberellin production. Increased concentrations of mepiquat chloride further decrease plant height in a concentration-dependent manner (Almeida and Rosolem, 2012 ; Kataria and Khanpara, 2012 ). Plant height significantly influences the bolls/m 2 and negatively correlates with internodal distance, number of sympodial branches. From Fig. 3 , the plant height was correlated with the seed cotton yield by an equation of y = 0.0103x + 65.226 (R 2 value = 0.0873), total biomass by an equation of y = − 0.0071x + 96.427 (R 2 value = 0.0293), and with internodal distance of plant by an equation of y=-0.004x + 4.0785 (R 2 value = 0.0055). Wider the plant spacing, higher would be the plant height directly influences the total biomass of individual plant. Higher the internodal distance and number of internodes, higher would be the plant height. From our study, it was revealed that wider spaced plants produced lesser internodal length and narrow spaced plants had longer internodal distance. A wider row spacing of 90 cm produced shorter internodal distance compared to a spacing of 70 cm. This directly influenced the maximum number of sympodial branches with wider spacing and narrow spacing with longer internodal distance produced lesser sympodial branches. Higher plant height and shorter internodal distance confirmed that wider spacing influenced the more number of internodes paved way for more sympodial branches compared to close spaced plants. Thus, wide spacing of 90 x 15 cm produced more sympodial branches than other treatments. Greater number of fruiting branches per plant in low planting density may be attributed to less competition and more space available for plant growth. Similar trends were reported by Awan et al. ( 2011 ), Singh et al. ( 2017 ), and Brodrick et al. (2013). Similarly, Vanda et al. ( 2023 ) found that an increase in the number of bolls per plant resulted directly from more sympodial branches per plant. Greater plant height led to more number of sympodial branches plant − 1 , boll numbers plant − 1 , and more seed cotton yield were associated with wider plant spacing. These findings supported with previous studies by Afzal et al. ( 2019 ), Ali et al., ( 2010 ) and Rafi et al. ( 2015 ). Wider plant spacing resulted in shorter internodal space (Ibrahim et al. , 2021), concluded that higher plant density reduced the number of monopodial and sympodial branches. From Fig. 3 , it was found that number of sympodial branches were found negatively correlated with internodal distance of plant. Similarly, application of mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm produced shorter internodes and more sympodial branches. Higher the internodal distance and number of nodes, higher would be the plant height. The application of mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide reduces overall plant height and influences internodal distance (Wang et al., 2014 ). There was no significant difference was observed with sympodial length with different compact varieties, plant spacings and growth regulators. Crop growth rates peak during vegetative growth stages, from emergence to the square set stage, and subsequently decline as fruit load increases (Ren et al., 2013 ; Zhang et al., 2016 ; Mao et al. , 2021; Yang and Zhou, 2010 ). Increased plant density enhances crop growth rates, directly influencing dry matter production (Darawsheh et al., 2009 ; Kumar et al., 2017 a; Kumar et al., 2017 b; Maheswari and Krishnasamy, 2019 ). Biomass accumulation was found to be higher during winter compared to summer. This might be to variations in environmental conditions such as temperature, rainfall, humidity, and light intensity (Dai et al., 2015 ; Wells, 2016 ; Khan et al., 2020 ). CO 17 and Suraksha accumulated more biomass in the vegetative parts i.e., leaves and stem and in the reproductive parts i.e., fruiting bodies (squares, flowers, bolls). Hence, total above ground biomass was higher with CO17 and Suraksha varieties. This might be due to higher plant height, more sympodial branches/plant better absorption of nutrients and genetic trait of the varieties. Figure 4 illustrates the relationship between biomass accumulation in leaves, stem and fruiting bodies towards total plant biomass. Leaf biomass positively influenced the stem biomass and total plant biomass and negatively correlates with biomass in fruiting bodies. This confirmed that biomass accumulation in stem and leaves was the major contributor for total plant biomass. It was concluded that increased plant biomass resulted in reduced biomass in fruiting bodies. From the Fig. 4 given below, the total plant biomass of cotton plant was correlated with stem biomass accumulation (y = 0.5646x − 176.42), leaf biomass accumulation (y = 0.5178x − 169.98), fruiting bodies biomass accumulation (y = − 0.0828x + 346.58). Biomass partitioning have direct influence on the seed cotton yield and inturn have their dependence on growth parameters like plant height, number of sympodial and monopodial branches/plant. However, total biomass of plant was correlated with the plant height by an equation of y = − 0.0071x + 96.427 with R 2 value of 0.0293.Total above ground biomass steadily increased at all growth stages and reached the maximum at harvest. On the other hand, Plants sown at a spacing of 70 x 10 cm exhibited higher dry matter accumulation than other plant spacing, due to increased plant density per unit area. Dry matter accumulation in vegetative parts exhibits a linear increase with increasing plant density, but individual plant biomass tends to decrease because of resource competition among plants (Bange and Milroy, 2004 ; Shah et al., 2017 ; Singh et al., 2017 ). This declining trend under densely populated regions may be attributed to reduced plant height and disturbances in the source-sink relationship (Gwathmey and Clement, 2010 ; Kaur et al., 2022 ). Similarly, wider spacing of 90 x 15 cm increased the individual plant biomass. Biomass accumulation in reproductive parts exhibits a linear increase with decreasing plant density. Wider spacing of 90 x15 cm produced higher biomass accumulation in reproductive parts compared to other spacing (Brodrick et al., 2012 ; Khan et al., 2017 ). This was due to reduced light penetration to lower plant portions in close planting leads to increased fruit shedding and reduced biomass of reproductive organs (Tung et al., 2018 ; Zhao and Oosterhuis, 2000 ). The excessive vegetative growth leads to fruit drop, boll rot and yield reduction, which can be minimized by MC application. The MC results in compact plant growth by reducing plant height, number of nodes, internodal distance and leaf area. Application of mepiquat chloride influences a significant effect on biomass accumulation in cotton (Wang et al., 2014 ). Mepiquat chloride mitigates intraspecific competition by compact plant structure achieved by inhibiting gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis and enhancing the activity of IAA oxidase, resulting in decreased gibberellin production, increased fruiting bodies biomass and reduced plant height (Priyadarshini et al., 2023 ; Siebert and Stewart, 2006 ; Zhao and Oosterhuis, 2000 ). Maximum reduction in plant biomass by application of MC + C @ 400 ppm was due to synergizing or enhancing effect of cyclanilide on the activity of mepiquat chloride as observed by Soares et al. (2016). This mechanism involves the redirection of assimilates towards developing flowering parts, thereby shortening the vegetative stage (Dwivedi et al., 2023 ; Gwathmey and Clement, 2010 ). Figure 3 illustrated that seed cotton yield positively correlated with boll numbers, boll weight and number of sympodia and negatively correlated with total biomass, internodal distance. Seed cotton yield was correlated with the plant height by an equation of y = 0.0103x + 65.226 with R 2 value of 0.0873, total biomass by an equation of y = -0.4491x + 2149.3 (R 2 value = 0.2853) and with boll numbers with the equation of y = 0.0225x + 19.373 with R 2 value of 0.6102. Suraksha variety recorded higher seed cotton yield than CO 17 and VPT 2, which could be attributed due to increased sympodial branches, more biomass accumulation in fruiting points, higher boll setting and boll numbers compared to other varieties. Similarly, more boll number per unit area, boll weight were observed with Suraksha which directly increase the seed cotton yield. Better vegetative and compact growth with profuse boll bearing has been the contributor for increasing the seed cotton yield over other varieties. Further, higher seed cotton yield was attributed through higher partitioning of assimilates into developing bolls, higher retention of bolls with least boll damage and due to better utilization of nutrient source for developing bolls. Another factor, wider spacing of 90 x15 cm paved way for enhanced availability of nutrient to the crops and increased nutrient uptake which helped in improved crop growth and yield (Bednarz et al., 2006 ; Yang et al., 2014 ; Yang and Zhou, 2010 ). Though the number of bolls/m 2 are comparable between 90 x10 cm and 90 x 15 cm, the increased boll weight under 90 x15 cm paved way for higher yield under 90 x15 cm. In contrast, the decline in yields under 70 cm inter-row spacing can be linked to a reduction in boll count per unit area (Khan et al., 2019 ; Sawan, 2016 ). Higher density plants produced lesser boll number per plant than lower density plants. This was due to low density plants translocate nutrients to developing bolls and shifted higher proportion of boll production to lower nodal positions as compared to higher density plants. Excessive shadowing inside the plant canopy resulted in abscission of fruit and yield loss. It also seen in the study, the 15 cm intra-row spacing increased the boll weight compared to 15 cm intra-row spacing. Application of MC observed with decreased and more compact plant. Shortened stem, reduced leaf expansion, petiole length, node number and faster maturity of cotton crop are all visible consequences of MC. MC were reported to decrease the length of internode, resulting in lower plant height, more sympodial branches and increased photosynthates transfer to reproductive sinks (bolls), which lead to higher yields. Cyclanilide may boost the effectiveness of a gibberellin biosynthesis inhibitor like mepiquat chloride. Mepiquat chloride along with cyclanilide balances the distribution of photo-assimilates to reproductive parts and increase boll numbers, average boll weight and seed cotton yield. Zhao and Oosterhuis ( 2000 ) reported higher proportion of fruit dry weight in mepiquat chloride with cyclanilide treated plants leading to increased bolls per plant. Increased seed cotton with application of mepiquat chloride along with cyclanilide @ 400 ppm over mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm alone was due to reduced vegetative growth with enhanced reproductive growth as evident from increased sympods per plant, total bolls per plant, increased boll weight indicating that cyclanilide synergized with mepiquat chloride. Conclusion Based on the above results and discussion, it was concluded that among the three varieties tested, plant height was comparable and dry matter accumulation in fruiting bodies was greater in the Suraksha variety, directly influenced the seed cotton yield. Considering the different plant spacing patterns, a spacing of 90x15 cm produced more fruiting bodies and more sympodial branches with appropriate plant architecture suited for mechanical harvesting. With regard to the plant growth regulators tested, mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm reduced the foliage size, increased fruiting body accumulation and altered the plant structure in a compact way suitable for mechanical harvesting. Thus, the Suraksha variety sown at 90x15 cm and sprayed with mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm produced compactness with acceptable plant height, more sympodial branches and optimum sympodial length, and obtained maximum seed cotton yield than other varieties and was more suitable for mechanical harvesting. Declarations Acknowledgements Authors wish to thank Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore and Cotton Research Station, Veppanthattai for providing research facilities for conducting the experiments. Authors’ contributions PARAMASIVAM Dhamodharan: Conducted experiment, recorded data, data analysis; SELVARAJ Somasundaram: Monitoring of experiment, formulation of experiment, correction, providing assistance and data analysis; KANDASAMY Thirukumaran, RAMASAMY Kavitha, VEERASAMY Ravichandran and POKKHARU Anantharaju: Guidance for conducting experiment, manuscript corrections. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Funding No funding from external sources. Availability of data and materials The data and material are available. Ethics approval and consent to participate Not applicable. Consent for publication All authors agree to publish the paper in Journal of Cotton Research Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. References Afzal MN, Tariq M, Ahmad M, Mubeen K, Khan MA, Afzal MU, Ahmad S. Dry matter, lint mass and fiber properties of cotton in response to nitrogen application and planting densities. 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Agronomy. 2021 Dec 19;11(12):2589. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11122589 Zhang D, Luo Z, Liu S, Li W, Dong H. Effects of deficit irrigation and plant density on the growth, yield and fiber quality of irrigated cotton. Field Crops Research. 2016 Oct 1;197:1-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.fcr.2016.06.003 Zhao D, Oosterhuis DM. Pix plus and mepiquat chloride effects on physiology, growth, and yield of field-grown cotton. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation. 2000 Dec 1;19(4). https://doi.org/10.1007/s003440000018. Zhi XY, Han YC, Li YB, Wang GP, Du WL, Li XX, Mao SC, Lu FE. Effects of plant density on cotton yield components and quality. Journal of integrative agriculture. 2016 Jul 1;15(7):1469-79. DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61174-1 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4586096","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":321653905,"identity":"98c1d7d3-9f4d-4c28-b5f3-8288be5ea804","order_by":0,"name":"Paramasivam Dhamodharan","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA8UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDCCGwwMzAwMFgxs7M0HHwD5PHxEapFg4OM5lmwA0sJGtBY5iRwzCZAAQS18t5ufbi6okZBnA2qp/JpjJ8PGwPzw0Q08WiTvHDO7PeOYhGEbz7Oy27LbkoEOYzM2zsGjxeBGgtltHjYJxjb25G23JbcxA7XwsEnj15L+7TbPPwn7NoYEs2LJbfXEaMkxu83bJpHYxpFixvhx22HCWiRv5JTdntknkdwGDGRpxm3HediYCfiF70b6ttsF32xs57c3H/z4c1u1PT9788PH+LSgAGYeMEmschBg/EGK6lEwCkbBKBgxAACPxEhbMnLyHwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Tamil Nadu Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Paramasivam","middleName":"","lastName":"Dhamodharan","suffix":""},{"id":321653906,"identity":"a77b4d23-1ea5-4f55-80a7-aa31ad76111f","order_by":1,"name":"SELVARAJ Somasundaram","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tamil Nadu Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"SELVARAJ","middleName":"","lastName":"Somasundaram","suffix":""},{"id":321653907,"identity":"a8e9cfe6-b4db-442c-9a54-f47d7f7d020c","order_by":2,"name":"KANDASAMY Thirukumaran","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tamil Nadu Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"KANDASAMY","middleName":"","lastName":"Thirukumaran","suffix":""},{"id":321653908,"identity":"1e1eff4f-57d3-4c51-a5fb-a7ba5e81e473","order_by":3,"name":"RAMASAMY Kavitha","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tamil Nadu Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"RAMASAMY","middleName":"","lastName":"Kavitha","suffix":""},{"id":321653909,"identity":"627939fc-40e1-4d30-af64-6631dcf016c2","order_by":4,"name":"VEERASAMY Ravichandran","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tamil Nadu Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"VEERASAMY","middleName":"","lastName":"Ravichandran","suffix":""},{"id":321653910,"identity":"fcee1e87-c665-4aaa-9c36-f4bafb623a33","order_by":5,"name":"POKKHARU Anantharaju","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tamil Nadu Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"POKKHARU","middleName":"","lastName":"Anantharaju","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-06-15 10:37:20","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4586096/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4586096/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":61010479,"identity":"c7689317-616b-46fb-8213-2467d79868fa","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-07-24 14:25:30","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":110061,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIdeal cotton plant architecture traits amenable for mechanical harvesting (Spindle and Stripper pickers) and high density planting. (Banoth Madhu \u003c/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eet al.,\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e 2023)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4586096/v1/143aae69cc4f9fd27a74ad8d.png"},{"id":61010480,"identity":"d295a132-8eaf-4df4-8681-1ab5131f5c31","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-07-24 14:25:30","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":236077,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEffect of compact varieties, plant spacings and plant growth regulators on Absolute Growth Rate (left) and Crop Growth Rate (right). (Treatments: V\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e - CO 17, V\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e - VPT 2, V\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e – Suraksha; S\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e - 90 x 15 cm, S\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e - 70 x 15 cm, S\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e - 90 x 10 cm, S\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e - 70 x 10 cm; G\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e – MC @ 150 ppm, G\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e – MC + C @ 400 ppm)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4586096/v1/7cfebe3934b80a11aac1616b.png"},{"id":61010481,"identity":"15e566a9-5d0c-49d6-8bc2-15b9bbc92fbf","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-07-24 14:25:30","extension":"png","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":1054188,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCorrelation relationship between growth and yield components (PH- plant height; SN- number of sympodial branches; SL- length of sympodial branches; IL- internodal length; B- biomass; BW- boll weight; BPMS- bolls/m\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csup\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e; SCY- seed cotton yield)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4586096/v1/b4b5c074f12d02023bbcd721.png"},{"id":61010482,"identity":"248339d5-42b0-4ef1-8cdd-93d3aafc943c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-07-24 14:25:30","extension":"png","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":707950,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCorrelation relationship between biomass partitioning and total plant biomass\u003cbr\u003e\n(LB – leaf biomass; SB – stem biomass; FBB - fruiting bodies biomass; TB – total biomass)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4586096/v1/964b91eadc8a48ed5e5fafed.png"},{"id":77829130,"identity":"258c7b56-fe54-4f03-918d-90f64f256c42","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-03-06 01:14:46","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":3693610,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4586096/v1/cc193442-f459-45ba-b8d7-ae7bb23176d0.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Engineering canopy architecture with enhanced yield through variety, geometry alterations and PGRs suiting mechanized cotton cultivation","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eIndia's cotton production, accounting for 60% of fiber used in textiles, faced a 2% decrease in area and a 5% decrease in production during 2023-24 due to farmers shifting acreage to more profitable crops (Prasad et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). The major challenges identified in cotton productivity includes higher input costs and labor-intensive management practices (Gadade et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). To tackle these challenges, mechanized cotton cultivation could be adopted with compact genotypes to enhance productivity under high-density planting system is proposed. This approach, successfully employed in various countries like Brazil, China, Australia, Spain, Argentina, and Greece (Narayana \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e., 2018; Ali et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e), aims to optimize profitability amidst rising production costs (Celsia and Babu, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). Specific cotton varieties such as CSH 3075, CO 15, CO 17, Suraj, Suraksha, and VPT 2 have been developed for HDPS cultivation in India. These compact genotypes are advantageous for machine harvesting and high-density planting due to their short stature and synchronous maturity.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh-Density Planting System (HDPS) in cotton involves planting cotton crops at higher densities with a target of achieving 1\u0026ndash;2 lakh cotton plants per hectare to maximize yield and efficiency. This alteration in crop geometry allows for a greater number of plants per hectare, each potentially bearing 8\u0026ndash;14 bolls, directly influencing seed cotton yield (Priyadarshini et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Parlawar et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Madavi et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). Increased plant density has shown benefits for cotton yield, particularly in fields with lower fertility (Sankaranarayanan et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). However, inappropriate planting density, either too low or too high, can pose risks to yield formation (Khan et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Higher plant populations enhance resource use efficiency (Tung et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR58\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e) as they can lead to smaller cotton plants resulting reduced boll load, and delayed late-season leaf senescence (Luo et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e), whereas lower plant density results in resource wastage (Singh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e), while higher density limits individual plant growth and reduces yield profitability and input use efficiency (Prasad et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Nalayini and Manickam, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). Thus, achieving an optimal plant stand is crucial for maximizing yields under HDPS.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo ensure mechanical harvesting suitability, compact canopy architecture with ideal plant heights less than 120 cm for spindle pickers and less than 80 cm for stripper pickers is warranted (Wang et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR63\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). The ideal cotton plant architecture traits amenable for mechanical harvesting is depicted in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e. Apart from plant height, traits like uniformity, shorter sympodial branch length without monopodia, synchronized flowering, and uniform boll bursting are essential for mechanical harvesting (Veeraputhiran \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e., 2019). The application of mepiquat chloride holds significant potential for mechanized cotton farming. Recent studies indicates that applying MC at specific growth stages can enhance harvesting efficiency and improve lint yield and fiber quality in cotton plants (Srikala et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Murtza et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). Moreover, MC has demonstrated effectiveness in regulating vegetative growth, increasing cotton yield, and enhancing fiber quality when applied at the appropriate growth stages (Long et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Chalise \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2023). Additionally, MC treatments have been shown to decelerate cotton growth, offering advantages for canopy management and mechanical harvesting, particularly in conjunction with other chemicals like cyclanilide (Sultana et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). Now studies are initiated with combined application of mepiquat chloride (gibberellic acid inhibitor) and chemicals like cyclanilide (auxin promoter) to improve the yield in cotton under HDPS. In summary, the strategic application of mepiquat chloride in cotton farming has the potential to enhance efficiency, increase yield, and improve fiber quality, thereby serving as a valuable asset for mechanized cotton farming. However, research on applying growth retardants under high-density planting, which could lead to synchronized crop maturity and uniform plant height, facilitating large-scale mechanical harvesting of seed cotton, is limited. With this backdrop, this study aims to assess suitable varieties, determine the optimal plant population required for cotton under HDPS, and investigate the effects of growth regulators on growth and physiological parameters, source-sink relationships, yield of mechanized cotton cultivation under the high-density planting system.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Materials and methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eExperimentation details\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eTwo field experiments were conducted at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Cotton Research Station, Veppanthattai, (latitude 11\u0026deg;34\u0026rsquo; N, longitude 78\u0026deg;80\u0026rsquo; E) during the summer and winter seasons of 2023-24. Each experiment was triplicated with split-split plot design having three factors. The experiment was conducted with three varieties (V\u003csub\u003e1\u003c/sub\u003e- CO 17, V\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e- VPT 2, V\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e- Suraksha) in main plots, four plant spacings (S\u003csub\u003e1\u003c/sub\u003e- 90 x 15 cm, S\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e- 70 x 15 cm, S\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e- 90 x 10 cm, S\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e- 70 x 10 cm) in sub-plots, and two plant growth regulators (G\u003csub\u003e1\u003c/sub\u003e- mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm, G\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e- mepiquat chloride\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;cyclanilide @ 400 ppm) in sub-sub plots. The plant growth regulator was applied at square initiation and boll formation stages. These selected cultivars had compact plant type, possesses zero monopodia with short sympodial length suited for HDPS. The results of pre sown soil analysis showed slightly saline with normal electrical conductivity, low nitrogen content, medium phosphorus content, medium potassium content, and medium organic carbon.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eCrop management\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eSowing was performed by a pneumatic precision planter with seed rate of 10 kg ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e. The recommended fertilizer dose of 100:50:50 NPK kg ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e was applied. Nitrogen potassium fertilizers were applied in two identical splits at the time of seedbed preparation and the start of flowering. Phosphorus fertilizer was broadcast during seedbed preparation. Life irrigation after three days of sowing and crop need based irrigation was provided. Pendimethalin 30% EC was applied at a rate of 3.3 l /ha for pre-emergence weed control. This was followed by intercultural operations using a power weeder at 25 and 45 days after sowing (DAS). For controlling sucking pests, Acephate 75% SP @ 20 g/10 litres of water, Imidacloprid 17.8% SL @ 40 ml/10 litres of water, Fipronil 5% SC @ 30 ml/10 litres of water were applied at 45 and 65 DAS by using tractor mounted boom sprayer. Spraying of defoliant Dropp ultra @ 250 ml/ha to promote crop earliness, better boll retention and to facilitate mechanical harvesting. Spindle type cotton harvester was engaged for mechanical harvesting of cotton.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eData collection\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eTen plants were randomly selected and labeled to record the growth and yield parameters in each experimental plot. Growth parameters including plant height, number of monopodial and sympodial branches, length of sympodia and internodal distance between third to fourth nodes were measured from the selected plants from each plot. Destructive plant samples were oven-dried at 70\u0026deg;C until a constant weight was achieved and then weighed. The total weight of above-ground biomass partitioned into leaves and stems as vegetative biomass and fruiting bodies (squares, flowers, green and mature bolls) as reproductive biomass and was recorded. The harvested bolls were air-dried to obtain moisture contents below 11%, and the weight of individual bolls was measured to obtain the average boll weight. The seed cotton was picked from the whole plot and then the yield was converted into kg ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e. Dry matter accumulation at different stages was assessed by calculating the crop growth rate (CGR) using the formula:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e \u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(CGR=\\frac{ \\text{W}2\u0026ndash; \\text{W}1}{\\text{t}2 \u0026ndash; \\text{t}1}\\text{X}\\frac{1}{\\text{P}}\\)\u003c/span\u003e \u003c/span\u003e------------------ (1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ewhere W₁, W₂ represent the plant dry matter weight (g/m\u0026sup2;) at times t₁ and t₂ (days of interval) respectively.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eStatistical analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eStatistical Analysis Data were statistically analysed following the procedure given by Gomez and Gomez (2010). The variance analysis was performed using Duncan\u0026rsquo;s new multiple-range test in SPSS 17.0.. All graphs were drawn with MS Excel. The means were analyzed using the least significant difference (LSD) test at 5% probability. Treatments where the difference is not significant are denoted as NS.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrowth parameters\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe growth data analysis resulted in a significant differences among varieties sown under different plant spacings and growth regulators, as presented in Table \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e. CO 17 and Suraksha varieties recorded higher plant height during summer and winter seasons respectively. Pooled data showed that both CO 17 and Suraksha varieties were 4.7% and 4.5% taller than VPT 2. For plant spacing, the analysis of variance using the pooled data at harvest stage revealed that the spacing of 90 x 15 cm had the highest effect on plant height with 4.6%, 8.6%, and 13.6% taller than 70 x 15 cm, 90 x 10cm and 70 x 10 cm spacings respectively. Plants treated with mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm were found to be 7.6% taller than treatment with the combination of mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm. The number of sympodial branches was significantly higher in variety Suraksha and was on par with CO 17, in turn the later was comparable with VPT 2. Wider row spacing of 90 x15 cm resulted in 19.3% more number of sympodial branches as compared to narrow row spacing of 70 x 10 cm. Compared to mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm alone, there was a significant increase in the number of sympodial branches plant\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e when mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm were used with values of 23.7 and 25. 8 during summer and winter respectively. Regarding sympodial length, pooled data showed that there is no significant difference was found with varieties, plant spacing and PGRs. Significant difference in internodal distance was absent among compact varieties and the average internodal distance in the study was 3.7 cm. There is no significant difference in internodal distance found with various plant spacing. Application of mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm resulted in 10.2% more internodal length than combination of mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCrop growth rate (CGR) was illustrated in Fig.\u0026nbsp;2 and was found to be progressively increasing till 60 DAS and gets peak during 60\u0026ndash;90 DAS. Crop growth rate of CO 17 and Suraksha was almost similar at all growth stages and the minimum crop growth rate was observed in VPT 2. Regarding plant spacings, higher CGR value of 11.8 g/m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e/day were found with spacing of 70 x 10 cm and the minimum growth rate was observed with 90 x 15 cm. Higher growth rate was observed at greater plant densities and was found to be sudden decrease during 45\u0026ndash;60 DAS and observed steep increase in the crop growth rate after 60 DAS. Application of mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm retards the crop growth rate (7.01 g/m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e/day) at 60 DAS and was found to be declining compared to mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm alone. Absolute growth rate (AGR) was found to be similar with crop growth rate among varieties, progressively increasing till 60 DAS and gets peak during 60\u0026ndash;90 DAS. Regarding plant spacings, higher growth rate value of 1.2 g/m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e/plant were found with wide spacing of 90 x 15 cm and the minimum growth rate was observed with narrow spacing of 70 x 10 cm. Increasing plant densities with 70 x 10 cm resulted in the decreased growth during 45\u0026ndash;60 DAS and observed sudden increase in the growth rate after 60 DAS. Regarding plant growth regulators, application of mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm retards the growth rate (0.71 g/m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e/plant) at 60 DAS and was found to be declining compared to mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm alone.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBiomass partitioning (g m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;2\u003c/sup\u003e)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe impact of compact cotton varieties, plant spacings and plant growth regulators on biomass content of leaves, stem and fruiting bodies were given in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e. Pooled data showed that maximum biomass in leaf parts was recorded in Suraksha with 443.6 g m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026sup2; which was statistically on par with CO 17 (436.5 g m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026sup2;), followed by VPT 2 (374.4 g m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026sup2;). On the other hand, CO 17 accumulated higher biomass in the stem, which was 493.0 g m-\u0026sup2; and was on par with Suraksha which recorded 478. 9 g m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026sup2;, followed by VPT 2. Similarly, CO 17 produced higher biomass in the fruiting bodies (374.7 g m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026sup2;), followed by Suraksha (366.8 g m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026sup2;) and VPT 2 (330.0 g m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026sup2;). Hence, Suraksha and CO 17 accumulated 12.6% and 13.6% more total above ground biomass compared to VPT 2. Regarding plant spacings, narrow spacing of 70 x 10 cm accumulated more biomass content of 512.8 g m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026sup2; and 570.4 g m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026sup2; in leaves and stems respectively. Whereas, wider spacing of 90 x 10 cm, 70 x 15 cm, and 90 x 15 cm accumulated 13.3%, 11.6%, and 11.2% more biomass in the fruiting bodies than 70 x 10 cm (325.0 g m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026sup2;). Hence, plants sown with spacing of 70 x 10 cm significantly recorded the maximum biomass accumulation of 1408.3 g m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026sup2;, followed by 90 x 10 cm (1381.6 g m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026sup2;), 70 x 15 cm (1205.5 g m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026sup2;), and 90 x 15 cm (1117.6 g m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026sup2;). It was found that narrow row spacing of 70 x 10 cm accumulated 24.8%, 17.6%, and 7.0% more biomass compared to spacings of 90 x 15 cm, 70 x 15 cm, and 90 x 10 cm, respectively. Significant effect was observed with application of mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm resulted in more biomass production in the leaves (446.6 g m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026sup2;) and stems (496.6 g m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026sup2;). Similarly, the combined application of mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm significantly led to higher biomass content in the fruiting bodies (371.8 g m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026sup2;). It was found that cotton plants treated with mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm alone produced 7.0% more total above ground biomass than combined application of mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm. The interaction component for all the three variables were found non-significant.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n \u003ctable id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEffect of compact varieties, plant spacings and growth regulators on the growth parameters of HDPS cotton\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/caption\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"13\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eVariety\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTreatments\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePlant height\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNumber of sympodial plant\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSympodial length (cm)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eInternodal distance (cm)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSummer\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWinter\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePooled\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSummer\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWinter\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePooled\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSummer\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWinter\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePooled\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSummer\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWinter\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePooled\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eV\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e- CO 17\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e89.1 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e90.0 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e89.8 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e23.9 ab\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e23.4 ab\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e23.7 ab\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18.0 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18.3 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18.1 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.7 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.6 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.7 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eV\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e- VPT 2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e82.0 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e85.2 bc\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e85.6 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e20.1 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e22.5 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e21.3 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e19.0 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18.7 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18.8 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.0 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.9 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.9 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eV\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e- Suraksha\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e83.1 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e96.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e89.6 ab\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e24.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e25.8 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e25.0 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e17.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e17.7 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e17.5 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.7 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.5 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.6 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSEd\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCD (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.05)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"13\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpacing (cm)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eS\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;90 x 15cm\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e92.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e97.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e94.7 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e25.0 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e27.6 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e26.4 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e19.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e19.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e19.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.3 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.6 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.5 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eS\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;70 x 15cm\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e87.2 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e93.7 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e90.4 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e22.2 ab\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e20.8 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e24.1 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e16.0 ab\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e17.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e17.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.0 ab\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.6 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.8 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eS\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;90 x 10cm\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e81.4 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e91.7 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e86.6 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e23.2 bc\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e24.9 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e21.6 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18.6 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18.9 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18.8 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.6 bc\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.8 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.8 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eS\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;70 x 10cm\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e78.4 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e83.5 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e81.9 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e20.4 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e22.0 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e21.3 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e14.3 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e17.5 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e17.4 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.6 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.9 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSEd\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCD (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.05)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"13\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePlant Growth Retardant\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eG\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u0026ndash; MC @ 150 ppm\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e88.4 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e95.3 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e91.9 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e21.7 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e22.5 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e22.2 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18.9 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e19.0 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e17.3 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.9 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.9 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.9 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eG\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u0026ndash; MC\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;C @ 400 ppm\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e81.1 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e88.6 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e84.9 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e23.7 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e25.8 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e24.4 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e16.5 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e17.3 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e19.0 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.6 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.5 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.5 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSEd\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCD (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.05)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"13\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInteraction\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVarieties x Spacing\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVarieties x PGR\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpacing x PGR\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVarieties x Spacing x PGR\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n \u003ctable id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEffect of compact varieties, plant spacings and growth regulators on biomass partitioning (g m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;2\u003c/sup\u003e) of HDPS cotton\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/caption\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"13\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eVariety\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTreatments\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eBiomass in leaves\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eBiomass in stem\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eBiomass in fruiting bodies\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTotal above ground biomass\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSummer\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWinter\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePooled\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSummer\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWinter\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePooled\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSummer\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWinter\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePooled\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSummer\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWinter\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePooled\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eV\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e- CO 17\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e391.0 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e482.0 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e436.5 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e516.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e470.3 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e493.0 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e357.7 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e391.7 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e374.7 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1264.8 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1343.6 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1304.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eV\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e- VPT 2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e335.4 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e413.5 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e374.5 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e442.7 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e403.5 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e422.9 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e307.0 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e353.3 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e330.0 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1085.2 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1169.8 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1127.5 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eV\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e- Suraksha\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e399.8 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e487.5 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e443.6 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e482.6 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e475.3 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e478.9 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e332.8 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e400.8 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e366.8 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1215.3 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1363.5 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1289.4 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSEd\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e15.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e12.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e17.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e12.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e7.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e16.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e38.1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e26.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCD (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.05)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e36.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e52.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e33.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e35.1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e50.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e35.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e14.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e6.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e44.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e105.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e73.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"13\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpacing (cm)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eS\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;90 x 15cm\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e294.6 d\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e361.5 d\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e328.0 d\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e377.2 d\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e352.5 d\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e364.8 d\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e328.2 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e403.3 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e365.9 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1000.0 d\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1117.6 d\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1058.8 d\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eS\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;70 x 15cm\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e337.0 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e413.8 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e375.4 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e430.6 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e403.6 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e417.1 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e347.0 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e388.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e367.6 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1114.8 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1205.5 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1160.2 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eS\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;90 x 10cm\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e409.8 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e503.2 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e456.5 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e524.2 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e490.7 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e507.5 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e352.7 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e387.6 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e370.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1286.8 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1381.6 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1334.2 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eS\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;70 x 10cm\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e460.3 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e565.3 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e512.8 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e589.7 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e551.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e570.4 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e302.0 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e348.0 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e325.0 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1351.9 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1464.6 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1408.3 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSEd\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e16.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e7.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e7.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e10.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e17.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e22.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCD (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.05)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e34.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e38.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e16.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e47.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e47.9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e17.9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e14.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e20.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e11.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e35.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e46.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e39.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"13\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePlant Growth Retardant\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eG\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u0026ndash; MC @ 150 ppm\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e401.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e492.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e446.6 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e513.3 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e480.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e496.6 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e317.2 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e368.0 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e342.6 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1231.5 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1340.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1285.8 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eG\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u0026ndash; MC\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;C @ 400 ppm\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e349.8 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e429.3 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e389.8 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e447.6 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e419.0 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e433.3 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e347.9 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e395.7 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e371.8 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1145.3 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1244.5 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1194.9 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSEd\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e25.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e26.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e16.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e6.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e6.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e6.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e13.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e13.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e12.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCD (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.05)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e40.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e42.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e11.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e32.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e32.1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e12.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e12.1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e17.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e9.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e26.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e27.9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e26.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"13\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInteraction\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVarieties x Spacing\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVarieties x PGR\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpacing x PGR\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVarieties x Spacing x PGR\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n \u003ctable id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEffect of compact varieties, plant spacings and growth regulators on yield attributes and seed cotton yield (kg ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e) of HDPS cotton\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/caption\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"10\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eVariety\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTreatments\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eBolls/m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eBoll weight (g)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSeed cotton yield (kg ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSummer\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWinter\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePooled\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSummer\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWinter\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePooled\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSummer\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWinter\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePooled\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eV\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e- CO 17\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e72.1 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e65.5 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e68.9 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.8 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.0 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.8 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2256 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2178 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2217 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eV\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e- VPT 2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e65.2 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e65.6 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e65.5 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.0 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.0 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.9 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2167 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2171 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2169 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eV\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e- Suraksha\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e70.8 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e67.3 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e69.5 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.1 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.1 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2415 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2348 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2382 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSEd\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e29\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e23\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCD (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.05)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.08\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.11\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.09\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e76\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e82\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e64\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"10\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpacing (cm)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eS\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;90 x 15 cm\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e70.9 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e68.6 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e69.7 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.1 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.1 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2421 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2405 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2413 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eS\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;70 x 15 cm\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e67.6 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e63.7 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e65.6 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.1 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.1 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2310 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2260 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2285 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eS\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;90 x 10 cm\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e73.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e69.5 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e71.4 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.8 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.9 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.8 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2303 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2255 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2279 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eS\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;70 x 10 cm\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e66.2 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e62.8 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e64.5 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.8 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.8 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.8 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2084 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2010 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2047 c\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSEd\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.06\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e40\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e29\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCD (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.05)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.12\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.11\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.09\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e64\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e84\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e68\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"10\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePlant Growth Retardant\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eG\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u0026ndash; MC @ 150 ppm\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e69.3 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e65.1 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e67.3 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.8 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.8 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.8 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2184 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2151 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2167 b\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eG\u003c/strong\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u0026ndash; MC\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;C @ 400 ppm\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e69.6 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e67.3 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e68.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.2 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2375 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2314 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2345 a\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSEd\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e15\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e22\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCD (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.05)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.11\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.09\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.08\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e46\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e25\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"10\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInteraction\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVarieties x Spacing\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVarieties x PGR\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpacing x PGR\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVarieties x Spacing x PGR\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYield attributes and seed cotton yield\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSignificant differences in boll numbers, boll weight and seed cotton yield were observed among compact varieties, plant spacings, and growth regulators and illustrated in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e. Pooled data showed that Suraksha variety produced 69.5 bolls/m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e with boll weight of 4.1 g and higher seed cotton of 2382 kg ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e. Suraksha yielded 7.0% and 9.0% more seed cotton yield than CO 17 and VPT 2 respectively. Regarding planting pattern, a row spacing of 90 x 10 cm significantly resulted in higher bolls/m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e (71.4) and was statistically on par with 90 x 15 cm (69.7), followed by 70 x 15 cm and 70 x 10 cm. Higher boll weight was obtained with spacing of 90 x 15 cm (4.1 g) and 70 x 15 cm (4.1 g), followed by 90 x 10 cm and 70 x 10 cm. Similarly, higher seed cotton yield of 2413 kg ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e was obtained with the spacing of 90 x 15 cm, followed by 70 x 15 cm which was comparable with 90 x 10 cm. Regarding growth regulators, pooled data showed that mepiquat chloride and cyclanide @ 400 ppm produced 68.2 bolls/m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e and significantly increased 9.5% more boll weight, 7.6% more seed cotton yield than mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm alone. The p-value was found to be 0.04238 for interaction component of varieties and PGR and the results were found significant (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.05). Similarly, another interaction component of spacing and PGR for seed cotton yield (p-value\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.00093) were found significant (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.01).\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eMechanization especially in cotton is influenced by various factors such as cotton varieties, plant spacing, and the application of growth regulators like mepiquat chloride (Nayra et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). The choice of cotton variety and their characteristics of the crop, such as plant height, canopy width, number of branches, boll dimensions, and bracts angle, significantly influence the performance of cotton pickers (Nowrouzieh \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2022). Similarly, different plant spacing can affect growth parameters, yield attributes, and seed cotton yield and play a crucial role in determining the performance of mechanical harvesters (Rupinder and Karun, 2022; Khadija et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). Studies have shown that the use of mepiquat chloride can significantly impact plant morphological traits, yield improvement, and fiber quality in cotton, leading to enhanced harvesting efficiency (Dharani et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Uma Maheswari \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2019). Moreover, growth-retarding chemicals and defoliants have been realized to affect plant attributes such as the size of the leaves, height, and boll number and thus the yield and fiber quality, hence optimizing mechanical harvesting of cotton (Kohli et al., 2012).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur study concluded that significant differences in plant height among compact varieties might be due to morphology traits of those particular varieties. Varietal differences play a crucial role in the regulation of plant height, emphasizing the genetic influence on plant structure (Boquet, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e; Li et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Similarly, it was concluded that increasing plant densities per unit area (70 x10 cm) decreased the plant height of crop. Wider row spacing of 90 cm increased the plant height in comparison to a narrow spacing 70 cm spacing (Dong et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e; Maheswari and Krishnasamy, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Yang et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). This might be possibly because of increased competition for resources like sunlight, water, and nutrients in the limited space (Zhi et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Khan et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Zaman et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Ibrahim et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). Increased vegetative growth causes shadowing inside the canopy, resulting in fruit abscission and a decrease in yield. MC application altered the plant canopy and increased the cotton yield by increasing air flow. Our results showed that spraying of mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm were found to be 7.6% taller than mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm at square formation stage and boll development stage. Maximum reduction in plant height by application of MC\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;C @ 400 ppm could be justified by its synergizing or enhancing effect on the activity of mepiquat chloride as observed by Soares \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e (2016). Cyclanilide may boost the effectiveness of a gibberellin biosynthesis inhibitor like mepiquat chloride. Mepiquat chloride inhibits gibberellin production by inducing enzymes to metabolise the inactive form GA 20 to the active form GA 1. Almeida \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e (2012) found that plant growth inhibitors can diminish internodal length and vegetative development by delaying cell division and elongation of plant aerial parts, as well as restricting gibberellin production. Increased concentrations of mepiquat chloride further decrease plant height in a concentration-dependent manner (Almeida and Rosolem, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Kataria and Khanpara, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e). Plant height significantly influences the bolls/m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e and negatively correlates with internodal distance, number of sympodial branches. From Fig. \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e, the plant height was correlated with the seed cotton yield by an equation of y\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.0103x\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;65.226 (R\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e value\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.0873), total biomass by an equation of y\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.0071x\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;96.427 (R\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e value\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.0293), and with internodal distance of plant by an equation of y=-0.004x\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;4.0785 (R\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e value\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.0055). Wider the plant spacing, higher would be the plant height directly influences the total biomass of individual plant. Higher the internodal distance and number of internodes, higher would be the plant height. From our study, it was revealed that wider spaced plants produced lesser internodal length and narrow spaced plants had longer internodal distance. A wider row spacing of 90 cm produced shorter internodal distance compared to a spacing of 70 cm. This directly influenced the maximum number of sympodial branches with wider spacing and narrow spacing with longer internodal distance produced lesser sympodial branches. Higher plant height and shorter internodal distance confirmed that wider spacing influenced the more number of internodes paved way for more sympodial branches compared to close spaced plants. Thus, wide spacing of 90 x 15 cm produced more sympodial branches than other treatments. Greater number of fruiting branches per plant in low planting density may be attributed to less competition and more space available for plant growth. Similar trends were reported by Awan et al. (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e), Singh et al. (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e), and Brodrick \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e (2013). Similarly, Vanda et al. (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e) found that an increase in the number of bolls per plant resulted directly from more sympodial branches per plant. Greater plant height led to more number of sympodial branches plant\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e, boll numbers plant\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e, and more seed cotton yield were associated with wider plant spacing. These findings supported with previous studies by Afzal et al. (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e), Ali et al., (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e) and Rafi et al. (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). Wider plant spacing resulted in shorter internodal space (Ibrahim \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2021), concluded that higher plant density reduced the number of monopodial and sympodial branches. From Fig. \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e, it was found that number of sympodial branches were found negatively correlated with internodal distance of plant. Similarly, application of mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm produced shorter internodes and more sympodial branches. Higher the internodal distance and number of nodes, higher would be the plant height. The application of mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide reduces overall plant height and influences internodal distance (Wang et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). There was no significant difference was observed with sympodial length with different compact varieties, plant spacings and growth regulators. Crop growth rates peak during vegetative growth stages, from emergence to the square set stage, and subsequently decline as fruit load increases (Ren et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Zhang et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Mao \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2021; Yang and Zhou, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e). Increased plant density enhances crop growth rates, directly influencing dry matter production (Darawsheh et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e; Kumar et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003ea; Kumar et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003eb; Maheswari and Krishnasamy, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBiomass accumulation was found to be higher during winter compared to summer. This might be to variations in environmental conditions such as temperature, rainfall, humidity, and light intensity (Dai et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Wells, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Khan et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). CO 17 and Suraksha accumulated more biomass in the vegetative parts i.e., leaves and stem and in the reproductive parts i.e., fruiting bodies (squares, flowers, bolls). Hence, total above ground biomass was higher with CO17 and Suraksha varieties. This might be due to higher plant height, more sympodial branches/plant better absorption of nutrients and genetic trait of the varieties. Figure \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e illustrates the relationship between biomass accumulation in leaves, stem and fruiting bodies towards total plant biomass. Leaf biomass positively influenced the stem biomass and total plant biomass and negatively correlates with biomass in fruiting bodies. This confirmed that biomass accumulation in stem and leaves was the major contributor for total plant biomass. It was concluded that increased plant biomass resulted in reduced biomass in fruiting bodies.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the Fig. \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e given below, the total plant biomass of cotton plant was correlated with stem biomass accumulation (y\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.5646x \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;176.42), leaf biomass accumulation (y\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.5178x \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;169.98), fruiting bodies biomass accumulation (y\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.0828x\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;346.58). Biomass partitioning have direct influence on the seed cotton yield and inturn have their dependence on growth parameters like plant height, number of sympodial and monopodial branches/plant. However, total biomass of plant was correlated with the plant height by an equation of y\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.0071x\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;96.427 with R\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e value of 0.0293.Total above ground biomass steadily increased at all growth stages and reached the maximum at harvest. On the other hand, Plants sown at a spacing of 70 x 10 cm exhibited higher dry matter accumulation than other plant spacing, due to increased plant density per unit area. Dry matter accumulation in vegetative parts exhibits a linear increase with increasing plant density, but individual plant biomass tends to decrease because of resource competition among plants (Bange and Milroy, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e; Shah et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Singh et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). This declining trend under densely populated regions may be attributed to reduced plant height and disturbances in the source-sink relationship (Gwathmey and Clement, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e; Kaur et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). Similarly, wider spacing of 90 x 15 cm increased the individual plant biomass. Biomass accumulation in reproductive parts exhibits a linear increase with decreasing plant density. Wider spacing of 90 x15 cm produced higher biomass accumulation in reproductive parts compared to other spacing (Brodrick et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Khan et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). This was due to reduced light penetration to lower plant portions in close planting leads to increased fruit shedding and reduced biomass of reproductive organs (Tung et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Zhao and Oosterhuis, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e). The excessive vegetative growth leads to fruit drop, boll rot and yield reduction, which can be minimized by MC application. The MC results in compact plant growth by reducing plant height, number of nodes, internodal distance and leaf area. Application of mepiquat chloride influences a significant effect on biomass accumulation in cotton (Wang et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). Mepiquat chloride mitigates intraspecific competition by compact plant structure achieved by inhibiting gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis and enhancing the activity of IAA oxidase, resulting in decreased gibberellin production, increased fruiting bodies biomass and reduced plant height (Priyadarshini et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Siebert and Stewart, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e; Zhao and Oosterhuis, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e). Maximum reduction in plant biomass by application of MC\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;C @ 400 ppm was due to synergizing or enhancing effect of cyclanilide on the activity of mepiquat chloride as observed by Soares \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e (2016). This mechanism involves the redirection of assimilates towards developing flowering parts, thereby shortening the vegetative stage (Dwivedi et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Gwathmey and Clement, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFigure \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e illustrated that seed cotton yield positively correlated with boll numbers, boll weight and number of sympodia and negatively correlated with total biomass, internodal distance. Seed cotton yield was correlated with the plant height by an equation of y\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.0103x\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;65.226 with R\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e value of 0.0873, total biomass by an equation of y = -0.4491x\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;2149.3 (R\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e value\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.2853) and with boll numbers with the equation of y\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.0225x\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;19.373 with R\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e value of 0.6102. Suraksha variety recorded higher seed cotton yield than CO 17 and VPT 2, which could be attributed due to increased sympodial branches, more biomass accumulation in fruiting points, higher boll setting and boll numbers compared to other varieties. Similarly, more boll number per unit area, boll weight were observed with Suraksha which directly increase the seed cotton yield. Better vegetative and compact growth with profuse boll bearing has been the contributor for increasing the seed cotton yield over other varieties. Further, higher seed cotton yield was attributed through higher partitioning of assimilates into developing bolls, higher retention of bolls with least boll damage and due to better utilization of nutrient source for developing bolls. Another factor, wider spacing of 90 x15 cm paved way for enhanced availability of nutrient to the crops and increased nutrient uptake which helped in improved crop growth and yield (Bednarz et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e; Yang et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e; Yang and Zhou, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e). Though the number of bolls/m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e are comparable between 90 x10 cm and 90 x 15 cm, the increased boll weight under 90 x15 cm paved way for higher yield under 90 x15 cm. In contrast, the decline in yields under 70 cm inter-row spacing can be linked to a reduction in boll count per unit area (Khan et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Sawan, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). Higher density plants produced lesser boll number per plant than lower density plants. This was due to low density plants translocate nutrients to developing bolls and shifted higher proportion of boll production to lower nodal positions as compared to higher density plants. Excessive shadowing inside the plant canopy resulted in abscission of fruit and yield loss. It also seen in the study, the 15 cm intra-row spacing increased the boll weight compared to 15 cm intra-row spacing. Application of MC observed with decreased and more compact plant. Shortened stem, reduced leaf expansion, petiole length, node number and faster maturity of cotton crop are all visible consequences of MC. MC were reported to decrease the length of internode, resulting in lower plant height, more sympodial branches and increased photosynthates transfer to reproductive sinks (bolls), which lead to higher yields. Cyclanilide may boost the effectiveness of a gibberellin biosynthesis inhibitor like mepiquat chloride. Mepiquat chloride along with cyclanilide balances the distribution of photo-assimilates to reproductive parts and increase boll numbers, average boll weight and seed cotton yield. Zhao and Oosterhuis (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e) reported higher proportion of fruit dry weight in mepiquat chloride with cyclanilide treated plants leading to increased bolls per plant. Increased seed cotton with application of mepiquat chloride along with cyclanilide @ 400 ppm over mepiquat chloride @ 150 ppm alone was due to reduced vegetative growth with enhanced reproductive growth as evident from increased sympods per plant, total bolls per plant, increased boll weight indicating that cyclanilide synergized with mepiquat chloride.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eBased on the above results and discussion, it was concluded that among the three varieties tested, plant height was comparable and dry matter accumulation in fruiting bodies was greater in the Suraksha variety, directly influenced the seed cotton yield. Considering the different plant spacing patterns, a spacing of 90x15 cm produced more fruiting bodies and more sympodial branches with appropriate plant architecture suited for mechanical harvesting. With regard to the plant growth regulators tested, mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm reduced the foliage size, increased fruiting body accumulation and altered the plant structure in a compact way suitable for mechanical harvesting. Thus, the Suraksha variety sown at 90x15 cm and sprayed with mepiquat chloride and cyclanilide @ 400 ppm produced compactness with acceptable plant height, more sympodial branches and optimum sympodial length, and obtained maximum seed cotton yield than other varieties and was more suitable for mechanical harvesting.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgements\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAuthors wish to thank Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore and Cotton Research Station, Veppanthattai for providing research facilities for conducting the experiments.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthors\u0026rsquo; contributions\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePARAMASIVAM Dhamodharan: Conducted experiment, recorded data, data analysis;\u0026nbsp;SELVARAJ Somasundaram: Monitoring of experiment, formulation of experiment, correction, providing assistance and data analysis;\u0026nbsp;KANDASAMY Thirukumaran, RAMASAMY Kavitha, VEERASAMY Ravichandran and POKKHARU Anantharaju: Guidance for conducting experiment, manuscript corrections. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo funding from external sources.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAvailability of data and materials\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe data and material are available.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics approval and consent to participate\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot applicable.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsent for publication\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll authors agree to publish the paper in Journal of Cotton Research\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompeting interests\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAfzal MN, Tariq M, Ahmad M, Mubeen K, Khan MA, Afzal MU, Ahmad S. 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DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61174-1\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Cotton, Compact variety, Crop geometry, Mepiquat chloride, Dry matter, Growth, HDPS, Mechanization","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4586096/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4586096/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBackground\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWith increasing labor challenges, achieving complete mechanization in cotton cultivation has become an urgent necessity in India. For mechanized cotton cultivation, it is necessary to have appropriate variety with designed canopy architecture. The required canopy architecture with higher seed cotton yield may be attained through optimizing crop geometry and spraying of plant growth regulators like mepiquat chloride. Also, application of mepiquat chloride alters canopy architecture in cotton by creating a more compact canopy suited for mechanization. In this study, we have optimized the different crop geometries and also studied the growth and yield potential of different \u003cem\u003edesi\u003c/em\u003e varieties \u003cem\u003eviz.\u003c/em\u003e, CO 17, VPT 2 and Suraksha with respect to plant growth regulators. This study mainly deals with growth, physiology, dry matter production and yield of each compact cultivars by application of plant growth regulators grown under diverse spatial patterns.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eResults\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAmong the three varieties tested, Suraksha variety significantly recorded optimum plant height, accumulated more dry matter in fruiting bodies, produced more sympodial branches and boll numbers per plant, and higher seed cotton yield compared to CO 17 and VPT 2 varieties. Increased plant densities significantly increased the dry matter production because of higher plant population per unit area. However, wider spacing of 90 cm significantly recorded greater plant height, more sympodial branches and boll numbers per plant, and seed cotton yield compared to narrow spacing of 70 cm. The combined application of mepiquat chloride with cyclanilide @ 400 ppm at square initiation and boll development stages had significantly increased the sympodial branches and number of bolls per plant, accumulated more biomass content in fruiting bodies and increased seed cotton yield, whereas application of mepiquat chloride alone accumulated more biomass content in vegetative parts and recorded greater plant height, and internodal distance.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eConclusion\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSuraksha variety sown under spacing 90 x 15 cm and treated with mepiquat chloride with cyclanilide @ 400 ppm at square initiation and boll development stages resulted in higher number of bolls per plant, boll weight and seed cotton yield under mechanized cultivation. This combination also produced a desired plant architecture suitable for mechanical harvesting.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Engineering canopy architecture with enhanced yield through variety, geometry alterations and PGRs suiting mechanized cotton cultivation","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-07-24 14:25:25","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4586096/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"9d9cd4f4-6862-4d76-add7-23d5ce1ed975","owner":[],"postedDate":"July 24th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-03-06T01:06:37+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-07-24 14:25:25","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4586096","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4586096","identity":"rs-4586096","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}