Studying the risk effects of climatic variables on cotton production using different statistical methodologies

Accepted July 27th 2020
 

Zakaria M. Sawan

Cotton Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, 9 Gamaa Street, 12619, Giza, Egypt .

 

Cotton yield is a function of growth rates, flower production rates and flower and boll retention during the fruiting period. Information on the relationship between climatic factors and the cotton plant's ability to produce and sustain flower buds, flowers and bolls will allow one to model plant responses to conditions that frequently occur in the field and to predict developmental rate or the formation of these organs. This study collects information about the nature of the relationship between various climatic factors and cotton boll development and the 15-day period both prior to and after initiation of individual bolls and also provide information on the effect of various climatic factors and soil moisture status during the development stage on flower and boll production in cotton. Evaporation, sunshine duration, relative humidity, surface soil temperature at 1800 h and maximum air temperature, are the important climatic factors that significantly affect flower and boll production. Evaporation; minimum humidity and sunshine duration were the most effective climatic factors during preceding and succeeding periods on boll production and retention. There was a negative correlation between flower and boll production and either evaporation or sunshine duration, while that correlation with minimum relative humidity was positive.

Key words: Cotton flower and boll production, evaporation, relative humidity, soil moisture status, sunshine duration, temperature.