STANDARDIZATION OF PLANT GEOMETRY AND NUTRIENT REQUIREMENT OF PROMISING ARBOREUM GENOTYPES OF COTTON

Despite the significance of arboreum cotton in rainfed regions, limited research exists on optimizing its plant geometry and nutrient management specific to newer genotypes. Most studies focus on hirsutum varieties, creating a gap in genotype-specific agronomic recommendations for arboreum cotton under varied plant densities and fertilizer regimes. The present investigation was conducted to optimize the planting density and fertilizer dose for enhancing the growth and yield of arboreum cotton under a split plot design with three replications. The study comprised three arboreum genotypes NDLA-3116-3 (V1 ), AKA-2013-8 (V2 ) and PA873 (V3 ) tested under three plant spacings: 60 × 10 cm (S1 ), 60 × 15 cm (S2 ), and 60 × 30 cm (S3 ). In sub-plots, three fertilizer levels i.e (N1 ) 75% RDF (30:20:20 NPK kg ha-1), (N2 ) 100% RDF (40:20:20 NPK kg ha-1) and (N3 ) 125% RDF (50:20:20 NPK kg ha-1) were applied to assess nutrient responses. The results indicated that, among genotypes, AKA 2013-8 (V2 ) performed superiorly in terms of growth, yield and yield attributes, also significantly superior in term of economics. Among spacing (S3 ) 90×30 cm observed significantly superior in term of growth, yield attributes and yield plant-1, but Seed Cotton Yield, lint yield, stalk yield and economics which is significantly superior in spacing (S1 ) 60×10 cm. Fertilizer level N3 (125% RDF) was found to be most effective in term of better plant growth, boll development, and seed cotton yield and economics. Overall, the genotype (AKA 2013-8), spacing of 60 × 30 cm (S3 ) and 125% RDF (N3 ) emerged as the most promising treatment for maximizing productivity in arboreum cotton under the given agro-climatic conditions. These findings offer practical guidance for refining agronomic practices in cotton cultivation, particularly for arboreum genotypes, thereby supporting sustainable intensification and improved nutrient use efficiency.