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By: Tilla van der Westhuizen other cultivars. This means that these two cultivars showed some heat
tolerance. The Rustenburg fi eld trial was damaged by a devastating
illa van der Westhuizen started studying for her PhD degree hail storm on 18 December 2012. Measurements were continued after
in cotton heat tolerance at the Arkansas University in 2011. regrowth and cultivar VH260 showed promising results regarding lower
Arkansas is one of the leaders in the United States of America membrane leakages as well as higher yields.
Twhen it comes to cotton production, especially in the Delta area.
Nationally, Arkansas is the 6th best state in cotton production. 1

Arkansas cotton production during 2012.
Cotton Production Up 1 Percent
Cotton information of the USA was released in November 2012 by
the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and the Agricultural 2
Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
All cotton production is forecast at 17.4 million 480-pound bales, up
1 percent from last month and up 12 percent from last year. Yield is
expected to average 802 pounds per acre, up 12 pounds from last year.
Upland cotton production is forecast at 16.8 million 480-pound bales, up 3
14 percent from 2011. Pima cotton production, forecast at 657,000 bales,
was carried forward from last month.

What happened in the fi eld?
Fruit retention of cotton in Arkansas during 2012 was high due to early
season optimal temperature and environmental conditions. Insect
pressure was mild early 2012 and was high in the late season especially
with plant bugs and spider mites. There was an average of four plant bug 1. The 2013 cotton experiment in Fayetteville, Arkansas University. Four diff erent cotton
applications per fi eld across the state. Due to the extreme drought and 2. varieties to be tested for high temperature tolerance.
Old Main is in the middle of the University of Arkansas campus. When the University was
high temperatures, many acres suffered from moisture stress especially founded, this was the only building on campus. An interesting note: the north tower is taller
in non-irrigated acres. Variability in cotton yields will be high even in than the south tower due to the outcome of the Civil War.
irrigated conditions due to water infi ltration, soil compaction, nematode 3. Professor Derrick Oosterhuis and his team of students (2011/2012), Fayetteville laboratory,
populations and other root disorders. Currently, about 60 percent of the Arkansas, USA.
Arkansas cotton crop is above average, 30 percent is fair and 10 percent
is poor due to non-irrigated acreage. Cotton Research at the University of Arkansas
Some of the research done by researchers from Altheimer laboratory, Fayetteville, Arkansas
PhD graduate student University includes the following:
Tilla van der Westhuizen (previously Pretorius) is currently a PhD graduate - Cotton Breeding.
student at the Arkansas University in the USA, situated in the small town of - E ects of Cultural Practices and Two Soilborne Pathogens on Root Morphology of Cotton in the
Fayetteville. Her mentor and study leader is the well-known physiologist Field.
and cotton expert Professor Derrick Oosterhuis. The title of her PhD - Has Bio-Tech Cotton Production Reduced Carbon Emissions? A Scan Level Cotton Carbon Life
Cycle Assessment.
dissertation will be: High temperature tolerance in cotton. The objectives
of the study are to study the agronomic and physiological effects of high - Cotton Yield Potential by Planting Date Based on Observational Data from the Arkansas Cotton
Research Veri cation Program.
temperature stress on the growth and yield of cotton genotypes in
the fi eld, and to use physiological measurements to quantify the effect - The E ects of Urea Application with N-(n-Butyl) Thiophosphoric Triamide and Dicyandiaminde
on the Growth and Yield of Cotton.
of high temperature stress on reproductive development of cotton - E ect of Salinity on Cotton Nitrogen uptake and assimilation of urea applied with N-(n-Butyl)
genotypes for screening for temperature tolerance. The fi rst fi eld trial Thiophosphoric Triamide and Dicyandiaminde.
was planted in Rustenburg in October 2012. The second and third trial - E ect of Foliar Application of Urea with N-(n-Butyl) Thiophosphoric Triamide on the Physiology
will be planted at Rustenburg Agricultural Research Station during the and Yield of Cotton.
2013/2014 and 2014/2015 seasons. She returns to Fayetteville each year - The E ect of Water-De cit Stress on the Biochemistry of the Cotton Flower.
to conduct mainly growth chamber studies. - E ects of Moderately High Temperature on Diurnal Pollen Tube Growth and Fertilization in
Field-Grown Cotton.
Progress to date - E ect of 1-Methylcyclopropene on Yield of Field-Grown Cotton.
Three growth chamber studies were conducted at the Altheimer - E ect of 1-Methylcyclopropene on the Cotton Flower Under Water-De cit Stress.
laboratory in Arkansas. Cultivars that were tested for heat stress - Cotton Response to Urea and an Enhanced E ciency Fertilizer.
included three sensitive cultivars showing some heat tolerance, namely, - Yield Response of Cotton to Timing of Potassium Fertilization Under De cient Soil Test Levels.
DP393, 3020B2RF, and Pima ST Vincent and three cultivars with high - Evaluation of Nitrogen Use of Modern Cotton Cultivars Based on Seed Size.
temperature tolerance, namely, VH260, Arkot 9704 and Pima 89590. Four
leaf disks were removed from 10 plants of each cultivar and tested for - Achieving Pro table Cotton Production: Irrigation Initiation and Termination.
leakages of ions (Membrane leakages). When plants/leaves lose a lot of - Sustainable Cotton Production: The E ects of Best Management Practices on Water, Sediment,
and Soil Quality.
ions through membranes during heat stress periods it negatively affects - Mepiquat Chloride-In uence on Cotton Fruiting Dynamics and Yield.
yields. Signifi cant changes were found when membrane leakages were
measured after one day of heat stress during growth chamber study - Cotton Yield Components.
1. VH260 and Pima 89590 had lower membrane leakages than the Any research summaries can be downloaded at www.arkansasagnews.uark.edu

Katoen SA Cotton 17 Februarie • February 2014