Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Lubbock, Texas » Cropping Systems Research Laboratory » Plant Stress and Germplasm Development Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #350754
Title: CPPU (N-(2-chloro-4-pyridinyl)-N’-phenylurea) enhancement of cotton yields

Author
item Burke, John
item Sanchez, Jacobo

Submitted to: Journal of Cotton Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/12/2018
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: The gradual depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer in the Southern High Plains of Texas over the past fifty years has resulted in reduced well capacities for cotton irrigation. Water table declines have already led some to shift from irrigated to dryland farming, and many of the remaining wells cannot provide enough water for full irrigation. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a synthetic plant hormone on the stimulation of root production and enhancement of cotton yields under dryland conditions. The results of the study showed that cotton yield increases associated with the increased rooting ranged from 8 to 20% in three years of field studies under dryland conditions. The greatest yield increases were associated with dry shallow soils. This study showed that application of a synthetic plant hormone to cotton, early in development, has the potential to increase yields and reduce water stress.

Technical Abstract: The gradual depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer in the Southern High Plains of Texas over the past fifty years has resulted in reduced well capacities for cotton irrigation. Water table declines have already led some to shift from irrigated to dryland farming, and many of the remaining wells cannot provide enough water for full irrigation. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of the synthetic cytokinin CPPU (N-(2-chloro-4-pyridinyl)-N’-phenylurea) on the stimulation of lateral root production and enhancement of cotton yields under dryland conditions. Seed treatments of 250 µmol/mol or seedling sprays of 5 µmol/mol at the cotyledon stage increased lateral root production. Cotton yield increases associated with the increased rooting ranged from 8 to 20% in three years of field studies under dryland conditions. The greatest yield increases were associated with dry shallow soils. Evaluation of water-deficit stress levels in untreated and CPPU-treated cotton showed reduced water-deficit stress levels throughout the growing season in the CPPU-treated cotton. This study showed that application of CPPU to cotton, early in development, has the potential to increase yields and reduce water stress.