Role of Nitrogen in Cotton Production

It ensures optimal photosynthate production in leaves.

Nitrogen is an integral component of proteins and is essential for a healthy growth of the crop and its physiological development. It is a key component in the chlorophyll hence influences the plant’s ability to produce. The N requirements for boll development are partially met from N stored in the leaf canopy.

Nitrogen prolongs growth period and increases the numbers of balls set. It can increase the boll size (weight of seed cotton per boll), but this effect is relatively smaller than the effect on boll number and usually occurs through an increase in individual seed weight at the expense of lint percentage. Although N can increase the number of seeds in the boll, this is not a common occurrence. The weight of lint can be influenced by adequate supply of nitrogen.

Management of nitrogen is especially important in cotton production. It is recommended to have both a pre-crop as well as an in-season monitoring of nitrogen in order to manage the supply and maximize the efficiency of applied N. It can be detrimental to yield and quality to have an excess of N during early vegetative stages, and to have too little N in the late season.