Sowing Time and Spacing Influenced Yield, Quality and Economics of Bt Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

A field study was conducted in the 2019 kharif season at the Agronomy Instructional Farm, SDAU, SKNagar, Gujarat, India. To investigate that the sowing time and spacing influenced yield, quality and economics of Bt cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in loamy sand soil. Twelve treatment combinations were examined, involving three sowing times (T1: 3rd week of May, T2: 1st week of June, T3: 3rd week of June) and four plant spacings (S1: 90 cm × 60 cm, S2: 90 cm × 45 cm, S3: 60 cm × 60 cm, S4: 60 cm × 45 cm). Four replications of a split plot design were used for the experiment. The third week of May was consistently the best time to sow cotton, according to the results, producing the maximum yields of seed cotton and stalk cotton. The quantity of monopodial branches/plant, harvest index and plant population as well as quality parameters such as oil content and ginning percentage were not significantly impacted by sowing time. The 3rd week of May sowing also yielded the highest benefit cost ratio and net realization. In terms of plant spacing, the spacing of 60 cm × 45 cm promoted highest plant population, taller plants and increased yield attributes like the bolls/plant, boll weight and seed cotton yield/plant. The highest seed cotton yield and stalk yield were achieved with this spacing. Harvest index and quality parameters were unaffected by plant spacing. The narrow spacing of 60 cm × 45 cm also resulted in the highest benefit cost ratio and net realization. The interaction effect between sowing time and plant spacing did not significantly influence growth, yield, yield attributes and quality parameters of Bt cotton.