Philip J. Bauer USDA, ARS, Coastal Plains Soil, Water & Plant

摘要: Under the general agreement that growth environment significantly affects cotton fiber yield, breeders and agronornists have collaborated to maximize fiber yield over a wide range of growth conditions. Growers also accept the concept that fiber properties such as micronaire and maturity are modified by the environment in which the fiber is produced. However, the nature and levels of these modifications are difficult to quantify, and the mechanisms by which growth-environment factors affect fiber quality are incompletely documented. Mapping fiber quality variations according to fruiting site shows that the fiber properties most closely related to maturity depend on source-boll position on the plant and, thus, on flowering date and the environmental conditions prevailing during maturation of that source-boll. Fiber maturation rates are particularly sensitive to temperature, and strong correlations exist between heat-unit …