Lint quality as influenced by of time of planting in Bt cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) cultivars in TBP irrigation command

Field experiments were conducted at College of Agriculture Farm, Raichur during kharif 2014-15 and 2015-16 to study the interaction between commercial Bt cultivars (Bindas, Bunny, ATM and Dr. Brent) and planting time (II fortnight of June, and I and II fortnights of July and August) on crop performance.

Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(8): 4098-4107 International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume Number 08 (2018) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2018.708.426 Lint Quality as Influenced by of Time of Planting in Bt cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) Cultivars in TBP Irrigation Command Vinayak Hosamani1*, B.M Chittapur2, Mallikarjun3, A.S Halepyati4, Satyanarayana Rao5, M.B Patil6, N.L Rajesh7 and Venkatesh Hosamani8 P2 BSF, Nagenahally, Kunigal, Central Silk Board, Bangalore/ UAS, Raichur, Karnataka, India Directorate of Extension, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, Karnataka, India e-SAP, Project, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, Karnataka, India University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, Karnataka, India Research Institute on Organic Farming, MARS UAS, Raichur, Karnataka, India AEEC, Koppal, UAS, Raichur, Karnataka, India (SS&AC), COA, UAS, Raichur, Karnataka, India Entomology, COH, Munirabad-Koppal, Karnataka, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Keywords Bt cotton, Date of sowing, Quality Article Info Accepted: 22 July 2018 Available Online: 10 August 2018 Field experiments were conducted at College of Agriculture Farm, Raichur during kharif 2014-15 and 2015-16 to study the interaction between commercial Bt cultivars (Bindas, Bunny, ATM and Dr Brent) and planting time (II fortnight of June, and I and II fortnights of July and August) on crop performance Results revealed significantly higher fibre finess (37.1) fibre length (mm) (37.1), Uniformity ratio (%) (50.06%), lint index (8.65), seed index (10.49g), maturity ratio (0.86), bundle strength (30.0 g tex -1) and ginning percentage (38.9) on pooled basis recorded with early sowing in June particularly with cv Bindas compared to delayed sowings with same or different cultivars Introduction Cotton (Gossypium spp.), ‘the king of fibers’ also popularly known as ‘the white gold’ enjoys a pre-eminent position amongst cash crops in the world and in India as well It is the nature’s most precious gift to the mankind, contributed by the genus Gossypium to clothe the people all over the world Four out of the 50 recognized Gossypium species in the world viz., G arboreum, G herbaceum, G hirsutum and G barbadense are cultivated for natural fibre, and India is the only country in the world where all the four species and some of their hybrid derivatives are commercially grown In fact, the Indian sub-continent has a long history of cultivating traditional varieties and hybrids of cotton Productivity of cotton can be considerably improved by cultivation of Bt cotton hybrids with suitable sowing time 4098 Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(8): 4098-4107 Time of sowing affects plant growth and fruiting through its effects on the microclimate of the crop Lint yield is a product of number of mature bolls produced/unit area Late sowing resulted in decrease in opened bolls, increased pest attack and reduction in yield Early sowing of the crop helped in the timely sowing of the succeeding rabi crops Planting time differs from place to place for obtaining higher yields In Haryana, sowing is recommended in the month of April to midMay The Bt cotton hybrids are comparatively fast growing and gave better yields even under late sown conditions However, little research work has been carried out under Haryana conditions, on suitability of Bt cotton hybrids under different sowing dates Keeping the above aspects, the present investigation was planned to study the performance of different Bt cotton hybrids (Gossypium hirsutum L.) under varying dates of sowing Proper sowing time plays pivotal role in yield potential; similarly, proper nitrogen dose is essential for optimum growth and yield To examine the productivity of four cotton cultivars under two different sowing dates To evaluate the differences in the yield and yield components of different cotton cultivars with different sowing dates Materials and Methods Investigations were carried out at Agricultural College Farm, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, Karnataka falling under Tunga Bhadra Project irrigation command under deep black soil under irrigation The experiment was laid out using Split plot design consisting of five main plot treatments (sowing date: D1- Second fortnight of June, D2- First fortnight of July, D3- Second fortnight of July, D4- First fortnight of August, and D5- Second fortnight of August) and four sub plot treatments (cotton cultivars: G1- Bindas, G2- Bunny-Bt, G3- ATM and G4- Dr Brent) with three replications The recommended dose of fertilizers 150: 75:75 kg ha-1 N, P2O5 and K2O were applied during both the years Important growth and yield parameters were monitored and the data were subjected to statistical analysis (Gomez and Gomez, 1984) The means were compared using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT) using SPSS 16.0 version at P = 0.05 Results and Discussion Fibre fineness was significantly influenced due to sowing dates, cultivars and their interactions during both the years and on pooled basis (Table 1-4) Early sowing during II fortnight of June (D1) consistently recorded significantly higher fineness (4.79 on pooled basis) among all and the values decreased steadily with delay in sowing wherein the last sowing during II fortnight of August (D5) recorded significantly lower fineness (3.92 on pooled basis) while others had intermediary values Variations among cultivars were significant during second year and in pooled mean Cv Bindas (G1) recorded significantly higher fineness (4.47) among all, while other cultivars were at par and differed significantly from the former (G1) Fibre fineness was higher with early sowing irrespective of cultivars used and it slowly decreased with delay in sowing up to August end Among all treatment combination cv Bindas sown during II fortnight of June (D1G1) (4.87 on pooled basis) was superior in fibre fineness while cvs Dr Brent and ATM sown during II fortnight of August (D5G4 and D5G3) recorded significantly lower fibre fineness (3.81 and 3.84, respectively on pooled basis) Fibre length differed significantly due to different sowing dates, cultivars and their interactions (Table 1-4) Among different dates of sowing, significantly higher fibre length (36.9 on pooled basis) was recorded with second fortnight of June (D1) during both the years and on the pooled basis Fibre length 4099 Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(8): 4098-4107 (mm) decreased with the delayed sowing times and recorded the lowest length (27.7 on pooled basis) with the last sowing during II fortnight of August (D5) Effect of genotypes revealed significant variation only during second year wherein cv Bindas (V1) fared superior (33.4) while cv Bunny Bt (V2) had lower fibre length among all Fibre length was higher with early sowing irrespective of cultivars used and it slowly decreased with delay in sowing up to August end Among all the treatment combinations cv Bindas sown during II fortnight of June (D1G1) (37.1 on pooled basis) was superior in fibre length and crop sown during I fortnight of July was on par irrespective of cultivars used, while cvs Bunny Bt, Dr Brent and ATM sown during II fortnight of August (D5G2-4) recorded significantly lower fibre length (27.1 to 27.5 on pooled basis) Other treatment combinations had intermediary values The data on uniformity ratio revealed significant differences due to sowing dates, cultivars and their interactions (Table 1-4) Among the different dates of sowing, significantly higher uniformity ratio (49.8 on pooled basis) was recorded with earliest sowing during II fortnight of June (D1) during both the years and on the pooled basis Uniformity ratio decreased with the delay in sowing and recorded lower value (45.8 on pooled basis) with last sowing during II fortnight of August (D5), while D4 was on par Effect of genotypes revealed significant variation only during second year and on pooled basis wherein cv Bindas (G1) fared superior (47.7 on pooled basis) while others were on par with one another and stood second Again uniformity ratio was higher with early sowing irrespective of cultivars used and it slowly decreased with delay in sowing up to August end among treatment combinations Among all, cv Bindas sown during II fortnight of June (D1G1) (50.6 on pooled basis) was superior in uniformity ratio and crop sown during I fortnight of July was on par irrespective of cultivars used except cv Dr Brent Whereas, cvs Bunny Bt, Dr Brent (44.8 each on pooled basis) and ATM (45.0) sown during II fortnight of August (D5G2-4) recorded significantly lower uniformity ratio Other treatment combinations had intermediary values Lint indices varied significantly due to sowing dates, cultivars and their interactions during both the years and on pooled basis (Table 14) Among the dates of sowing, significantly higher lint index was recorded with early sowing during II fortnight of June (D1) (8.51 on pooled basis) followed closely by I fortnight of July (D2) which was on par, then on the values decreased with the delayed sowing and recorded the lowest lint index (5.29 on pooled basis) with the last sowing during II second fortnight of August (D5) Among the genotypes, cv Bindas (G1) consistently recorded higher lint index (7.64 on pooled basis) followed by cv ATM (G3) while cv Bunny Bt (G2) and Dr Brent (G4) were on par with each other and recorded lower lint indices (7.23 and 7.24, respectively on pooled basis) among all Among the treatment combinations, irrespective of cultivars first sowing during II fortnight of June (D1G1-4) recorded significantly higher lint indices; cv Bindas topping all (8.65 on pooled basis), second sowing during I fortnight of July (D2G1-4) had comparable values, and then on the values decreased appreciably with considerably low values with last sowing during II fortnight of August (4.86 and 4.95, respectively with cvs Dr Brent and Bunny Bt on pooled basis), while crop sown during I fortnight of August fared a lot better Sowing dates, cultivars and their interactions resulted in significant variations in seed indices during both the years and on pooled basis (Table 1-4) 4100 Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(8): 4098-4107 Table.1 Fibre fineness and Fibre length (mm) of cotton as influenced by time of Planting and genotypes Treatments Plant time D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 S.Em Genotypes G1 G2 G3 G4 S.Em DxG D1G1 D1G2 D1G3 D1G4 D2G1 D2G2 D2G3 D2G4 D3G1 D3G2 D3G3 D3G4 D4G1 D4G2 D4G3 D4G4 D5G1 D5G2 D5G3 D5G4 S.Em Fibre fineness 2014-15 2015-16 Pooled Fibre length (mm) 2014-15 2015-16 Pooled Yield kg ha-1 Pooled 4.76a 4.53b 4.34cb 4.15c 3.93d 0.06 4.82a 4.62b 4.39c 4.20d 3.91e 0.03 4.79a 4.58b 4.37c 4.18d 3.92e 0.02 35.8a 33.8ba 32.5bc 30.6c 26.9d 0.66 38.0a 35.8b 34.3c 31.9d 28.4e 0.30 36.9a 34.8b 33.4c 31.2d 27.7e 0.10 3837a 3392b 2711c 2015d 982e 71 4.46a 4.34a 4.29a 4.28a 0.06 4.48a 4.39b 4.36b 4.33b 0.02 4.47a 4.36b 4.33b 4.31b 0.01 32.4a 31.8a 31.8a 31.7a 0.62 34.3a 33.3c 33.6b 33.5cb 0.10 33.4a 32.5a 32.7a 32.6a 0.01 2873a 2280d 2673c 2517b 43 4.85a 4.74ba 4.72ba 4.73ba 4.66a-d 4.54a-d 4.51bde 4.42bde 4.41b-e 4.32c-f 4.31c-f 4.32c-f 4.24e-g 4.12e-g 4.11e-g 4.13e-g 4.12e-g 3.97feg 3.82fg 3.80g 0.13 4.89a 4.81ba 4.79ba 4.79ba 4.74b 4.59c 4.59c 4.55c 4.50de 4.33feg 4.38de 4.35fe 4.28feg 4.21fhg 4.19hg 4.13ih 3.99i 3.99i 3.85j 3.82j 0.05 4.87a 4.78ba 4.76ba 4.76ba 4.70bac 4.57bdc 4.55bdc 4.49adc 4.46adc 4.32edf 4.34edf 4.34edf 4.26egf 4.17hgf 4.15hgf 4.13hgf 4.06hgi 3.98hi 3.84i 3.81i 0.03 35.9a 35.7a 35.7a 35.7a 34.1ba 33.8ba 33.7ba 33.5ba 33.4ba 32.3ba 32.3ba 32.2ba 31.2bac 30.4bc 30.4bc 30.3bc 27.7c 26.6c 26.6c 26.6c 1.37 38.2a 37.9a 38.0a 38.0a 36.2b 35.6cb 35.8b 35.6cb 35.1c 33.9d 34.1d 34.0de 32.6f 31.5f 31.9f 31.6g 29.5i 27.6h 28.4h 28.2h 0.30 37.1a 36.8ba 36.9ba 36.8ba 35.1bac 34.7bac 34.7bac 34.6bc 34.3c 33.1dc 33.2dc 33.1dc 31.9d 30.9d 31.2d 31.0d 28.6e 27.1e 27.5e 27.4e 0.20 4173a 3692cb 3784b 3695cb 3595c 3335d 3364d 3276d 3113e 1810h 3205ed 2718f 2202g 1728h 2073g 2058g 1286i 856j 946j 841j 113 *Means with same letters not differ significantly under DMRT Main plot treatments: Time of planting (D) Sub plot treatments: Genotypes (G) D1: Second fortnight of June G1: Bindas D2: First fortnight of July G2: Bunny-Bt D3: Second fortnight of July G3: ATM D4: First fortnight of August G4: Dr Brent D5: Second fortnight of August 4101 Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(8): 4098-4107 Table.2 Uniformity ratio (%) and Lint index of cotton as influenced by time of Planting and genotypes Treatments Plant time D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 S.Em Genotypes G1 G2 G3 G4 S.Em DxG D1G1 D1G2 D1G3 D1G4 D2G1 D2G2 D2G3 D2G4 D3G1 D3G2 D3G3 D3G4 D4G1 D4G2 D4G3 D4G4 D5G1 D5G2 D5G3 D5G4 S.Em Uniformity ratio (%) 2014-15 2015-16 Pooled 2014-15 Lint index 2015-16 Pooled 49.2a 47.2ba 46.4bc 45.6bc 44.8c 0.65 50.3a 48.3b 47.0c 46.0dc 45.3d 0.31 49.8a 47.7b 46.7cb 45.8cd 45.1d 0.39 8.37a 8.30a 7.54b 7.05c 5.04d 0.12 8.65a 8.39a 7.65b 7.24b 5.53c 0.16 8.51a 8.35a 7.59b 7.14c 5.29d 0.08 47.3a 46.5a 46.5a 46.3a 0.58 48.1a 47.1c 47.3b 47.1c 0.10 47.7a 46.8b 46.9b 46.7b 0.30 7.52a 7.16b 7.22b 7.16b 0.08 7.77a 7.31c 7.56b 7.32c 0.07 7.64a 7.23b 7.39b 7.24b 0.03 50.2a 48.9ba 48.9ba 48.9ba 47.7ba 47.1ba 47.2ba 46.8ba 47.4ba 46.1ba 46.2ba 45.8ba 45.7b 45.6b 45.7b 45.6b 45.5b 44.6b 44.7b 44.6b 1.29 51.1a 50.0b 50.1b 50.0b 49.1c 47.9d 48.3d 47.8d 48.1d 46.5fe 46.9e 46.5fe 46.3fg 45.9g 46.1fg 45.9g 46.0g 45.0h 45.3h 45.1h 0.30 50.6a 49.5ba 49.5ba 49.4bc 48.4bcd 47.5bcd 47.7cd 47.3bcd 47.8ed 46.3ecd 46.5ed 46.2ed 46.0ed 45.8e 45.9ed 45.7e 45.7e 44.8e 45.0e 44.8 0.80 8.47a 8.36a 8.33a 8.32a 8.38a 8.27a 8.28a 8.27a 7.67b 7.47cb 7.51cb 7.49cb 7.36cb 6.90c 6.99c 6.95c 5.68d 4.76e 4.95e 4.77e 0.20 8.82a 8.58ba 8.62ba 8.57ba 8.56ba 8.32b 8.35ba 8.32b 7.77c 7.56dc 7.65c 7.63dc 7.50e 6.96dce 7.35de 7.13de 6.19f 5.13g 5.83f 4.95g 0.21 8.65a 8.47a 8.47a 8.45a 8.47a 8.30a 8.32a 8.30a 7.72b 7.51cb 7.58cb 7.56cb 7.43cbd 6.93e 7.17ced 7.04ed 5.94f 4.95h 5.39g 4.86h 0.10 *Means with same letters not differ significantly under DMRT Main plot treatments: Time of planting (D) Sub plot treatments: Genotypes (G) D1: Second fortnight of June G1: Bindas D2: First fortnight of July G2: Bunny-Bt D3: Second fortnight of July G3: ATM D4: First fortnight of August G4: Dr Brent D5: Second fortnight of August 4102 Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(8): 4098-4107 Table.3 Seed index (g) and Maturity ratio of cotton as influenced by time of Planting and genotypes Treatments Plant time D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 S.Em Genotypes G1 G2 G3 G4 S.Em DxG D1G1 D1G2 D1G3 D1G4 D2G1 D2G2 D2G3 D2G4 D3G1 D3G2 D3G3 D3G4 D4G1 D4G2 D4G3 D4G4 D5G1 D5G2 D5G3 D5G4 S.Em 2014-15 Seed index (g) 2015-16 Maturity ratio 2014-15 2015-16 Pooled Pooled 10.43a 9.71b 9.36cb 9.03c 8.07d 0.11 10.46a 9.79b 9.33c 8.96d 8.17e 0.07 10.37a 9.68b 9.30c 8.89d 8.08e 0.06 0.82a 0.81a 0.76b 0.70c 0.65d 0.01 0.87a 0.83b 0.78c 0.73d 0.68e 0.02 0.84a 0.82b 0.77c 0.72d 0.66e 0.01 9.46a 9.31a 9.29a 9.22a 0.14 9.52a 9.28b 9.31b 9.25b 0.02 9.37a 9.31b 9.27b 8.31b 0.06 0.76a 0.73b 0.74ba 0.75ba 0.01 0.80a 0.76c 0.78b 0.77b 0.003 0.78a 0.75b 0.76b 0.76b 0.006 10.56a 10.47ba 10.47ba 10.22bac 9.94a-d 9.72a-d 9.65a-d 9.54a-d 9.47bdc 9.29dc 9.35dc 9.34dc 9.17d 9.03de 8.95de 8.97de 8.17ee 8.05e 8.03e 8.05e 0.29 10.62a 10.42bc 10.51ba 10.30c 10.01d 9.76e 9.75e 9.64e 9.49f 9.18h 9.34g 9.29g 9.16hg 8.96h 8.84i 8.89i 8.34i 8.09j 8.12k 8.11k 0.08 10.49a 10.49a 10.38a 10.11ba 9.85bc 9.73dc 9.64dc 9.52dce 9.32de 9.31fe 9.32dfe 9.25dfe 9.07fe 8.93f 8.92f 8.66f 8.13g 8.09g 8.07fg 8.03g 0.13 0.83a 0.82a 0.82a 0.82a 0.81ba 0.80ba 0.81ba 0.81ba 0.78bac 0.74dc 0.75bdc 0.75bdc 0.72ed 0.69d-g 0.70edf 0.70edf 0.68egf 0.62h 0.64gh 0.65ghf 0.02 0.88a 0.86bc 0.87ba 0.86b 0.84dc 0.81fe 0.83d 0.83de 0.80f 0.76hg 0.77g 0.77g 0.75hi 0.72jk 0.73ji 0.73j 0.71k 0.65m 0.68l 0.68l 0.01 0.86a 0.84ba 0.84ba 0.84ba 0.83bac 0.81bac 0.82bdc 0.82bac 0.79bac 0.75edc 0.76ef 0.76edf 0.73ef 0.70gf 0.72gf 0.71gf 0.69hgf 0.64j 0.66ji 0.66hji 0.01 *Means with same letters not differ significantly under DMRT Main plot treatments: Time of planting (D) Sub plot treatments: Genotypes (G) D1: Second fortnight of June G1: Bindas D2: First fortnight of July G2: Bunny-Bt D3: Second fortnight of July G3: ATM D4: First fortnight of August G4: Dr Brent D5: Second fortnight of August 4103 Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(8): 4098-4107 Table.4 Bundle strength (g/tex) and ginning percentage of cotton as influenced by time of Planting and genotypes Treatments Plant time D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 S.Em Genotypes G1 G2 G3 G4 S.Em DxG D1G1 D1G2 D1G3 D1G4 D2G1 D2G2 D2G3 D2G4 D3G1 D3G2 D3G3 D3G4 D4G1 D4G2 D4G3 D4G4 D5G1 D5G2 D5G3 D5G4 S.Em Bundle strength (g/tex) 2014-15 2015-16 Pooled Ginning percentage 2014-15 2015-16 Pooled 29.1a 28.1a 27.1b 24.8c 23.0d 0.2 30.3a 28.8b 27.6c 25.3d 23.2e 0.2 29.7a 28.4b 27.4c 25.0d 23.1e 0.10 38.7a 37.5ba 35.5b 32.3c 30.7c 0.65 38.3a 37.1b 35.4c 32.1d 31.4d 0.20 38.5a 37.3b 35.4c 32.2d 31.1e 0.20 26.8a 26.2bc 26.3ba 26.3c 0.2 27.6a 26.7a 27.0a 26.9a 0.08 27.2a 26.5b 26.7a 26.6b 0.04 35.3a 34.7a 34.9a 34.9a 0.58 35.4a 34.5c 34.9b 34.8b 0.10 35.3a 34.6b 34.9b 34.8b 0.16 29.3a 29.0a 29.1a 29.0a 28.2a 28.0a 28.1a 28.0a 28.0a 26.8b 26.9b 26.8b 25.0c 24.6c 24.8c 24.7c 23.7d 22.8d 22.8d 22.9d 0.4 30.6a 30.2a 30.2a 30.1a 29.3ba 28.5b 28.9b 28.7b 28.5b 27.2c 27.5c 27.4c 25.7cb 24.7d 25.3cb 25.3cb 23.9e 22.9e 22.9e 22.9e 0.3 30.0a 29.6a 29.6a 29.6a 28.7b 28.2b 28.5b 28.3b 28.2b 27.0c 27.2c 27.1c 25.3c 24.7c 25.1c 25.0c 23.8dc 22.8d 22.9d 22.9d 0.13 39.0a 38.5a 38.7a 38.6a 37.9a 37.2a 37.4a 37.4a 35.8ba 35.2bac 35.4bac 35.6ba 32.7bdc 32.1bdc 32.2bdc 32.4bdc 31.3dc 30.3d 30.7d 30.6d 1.3 38.8a 38.0b 38.2b 38.2b 37.5c 36.8d 37.2dc 37.1dc 35.7e 35.1f 35.4fe 35.2f 32.7g 31.7ih 32.0h 32.0h 32.0h 30.8j 31.6ih 31.3i 0.30 38.9a 38.3a 38.5a 38.4a 37.7a 37.0bac 37.3ba 37.2ba 35.8bc 35.2c 35.4bc 35.4bc 32.7d 31.9ed 32.1ed 32.2ed 31.7ed 30.5e 31.2ed 30.9ed 0.40 *Means with same letters not differ significantly under DMRT Main plot treatments: Time of planting (D) Sub plot treatments: Genotypes (G) D1: Second fortnight of June G1: Bindas D2: First fortnight of July G2: Bunny-Bt D3: Second fortnight of July G3: ATM D4: First fortnight of August G4: Dr Brent D5: Second fortnight of August 4104 Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(8): 4098-4107 Among the dates of sowing, significantly higher seed index (10.37 on pooled basis) was recorded with early sowing during II fortnight of June (D1) followed by I fortnight of July (D2), and the values decreased with further delay in sowing and recorded the lowest seed index (8.08 on pooled basis) with the last sowing during II second fortnight of August (D5) Among the genotypes, cv Bindas (G1) consistently recorded higher seed index (9.37 on pooled basis) followed by cvs ATM Bunny Bt (G2) and Dr Brent (G4) were on par with each other and recorded next higher indices (8.31 to 9.31 on pooled basis) among all Among the treatment combinations, irrespective of cultivars first sowing during II fortnight of June (D1G1-4) recorded significantly higher seed indices; cv Bindas and Bunny Bt faring well (10.49 each on pooled basis) Thereafter seed indices decreased appreciably with considerably low values with last sowing during II fortnight of August (8.03 and 8.09, respectively with cvs Dr Brent (D5G4) and Bunny Bt (D5G2) on pooled basis), while other combinations fared moderate values occupying middle space Production interventions in the form of sowing dates, cultivars and their interactions resulted in significant variations in maturity ratio during both the years and on pooled basis (Table 1-4) Among the dates of sowing, significantly higher maturity ratio was recorded consistently with early sowing during II fortnight of June (D1) (0.84 on pooled basis) followed by I fortnight of July (D2), and the values decreased with further delay in sowing and recorded the lowest maturity ratio (0.66 on pooled basis) with the last sowing during II fortnight of August (D5) Among the genotypes, cv Bindas (G1) consistently recorded higher maturity ratio (0.78 on pooled basis), while others fared on par with each other and stood next in the order (cvs ATM, Bunny Bt and Dr Brent with values ranging from 0.75 to 0.76) Among the treatment combinations, irrespective of cultivars first sowing during II fortnight of June (D1G1-4) recorded significantly higher maturity ratio; cv Bindas faring well (0.86 on pooled basis) and I fortnight of July (D2G1-4) and cv Bindas (D3G1) sown during II fortnight of July were at par Thereafter, maturity ratio decreased with considerably low values with the last sowing during II fortnight of August, cv, Bunny Bt (D5G2) recorded the lowest (0.64 on pooled basis), while other combinations fared moderate and occupied middle space Bundle strength differed significantly due to sowing dates, cultivars and their interactions during both years and on pooled basis (Table 1-4) Among the different dates of sowing significantly higher bundle strength (29.7 on pooled basis) was recorded with II fortnight of June (D1) Bundle strength decreased gradually with the delayed sowing and recorded the lowest seed index with the last sowing during II fortnight of August (D5) (23.1 on pooled basis) Other sowing dates occupied middle space Cv Bindas (G1) consistently recorded higher bundle strength (27.2 on pooled basis) followed by cv ATM which was on par while cvs Bunny Bt (G2) and Dr Brent (G4) fared at par with comparable values (26.5 and 26.6, respectively on pooled basis) among the cultivars and stood next in the order Among the treatment combinations, irrespective of cultivars early sowing during II fortnight of June (D1G1-4) had significantly higher bundle strength; cv Bindas faring better (30.0 on pooled basis), followed by those sown during I fortnight of July (D2G1-4) With further delay in sowing bundle strength decreased gradually and recorded significantly lower values with last sown crop during II fortnight of August (D5G1-4) where all cultivars fared on par with each other (22.8 to 23.8 on pooled basis) Other combinations had moderate values and fared in between 4105 Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(8): 4098-4107 During both the years of experimentation and on pooled basis ginning percentage varied significantly due to sowing dates, cultivars and their interactions (Table 1-4) Among the different dates of sowing, significantly higher ginning percentage (38.5 on pooled basis) was recorded with II fortnight of June (D1) Ginning percentage decreased gradually with the delayed sowing and recorded the lowest ginning percentage (31.1 on pooled basis) with the last sowing during II fortnight of August (D5) Other sowing dates occupied middle space Among cultivars, cv Bindas (G1) consistently recorded higher ginning percentage (35.3 on pooled basis); other cultivars were at par with one another and stood next in the order Among the treatment combinations, irrespective of cultivars early sowing during II fortnight of June (D1G1-4) had significantly higher ginning percentage; cv Bindas faring better (38.9 on pooled basis), followed by those sown during I fortnight of July (D2G1-4) and cv Bindas sown during II fortnight of July (D3G1) which were on par with first sown crop With further delay in sowing ginning percentage decreased gradually and recorded significantly lower values with last sown crop during II fortnight of August (D5G1-4) when all cultivars fared on par with each other (30.5 to 31.7 on pooled basis) Lint quality and other quality parameters were superior with early date of sowing irrespective of the genotypes (Table 1-4) In the investigation higher fibre fineness (4.87 on pooled basis), fibre length (37.1 on pooled basis), uniformity ratio (50.6), lint index (8.65 on pooled basis), seed index (10.49 on pooled basis), maturity ratio (10.49 on pooled basis), bundle strength (30.0 on pooled basis) and ginning percentage (38.9 on pooled basis) were obtained with cv Bindas sown during II fortnight of June (D1G1) Similarly, ElDebaby et al., (1995) and Khalid Usman et al., (2016) reported higher fibre length with early sowing The results are also parallel with the findings of Arshad et al., (2007) and Baloch et al., (2001) who reported that late planting reduced fibre strength Similarly, Elayan et al., (2015) reported higher seed index and stable length with early planting of cotton Micronaire indicates an indirect measure of cotton fibre gravimetric fineness (mass per unit length) and is significantly influenced by sowing dates, genotypes and their interactions (Khalid Usman et al., 2016) Deho et al., (2012) reported that micronaire value was lower (more fine fibre) with early sowing in April compared to May sowing having higher micronaire value While, lowest quality parameters were recorded with late sown crop irrespective of genotypes Moreover, late sown cotton may reach maturity late in the season and practically farmers harvest immature cotton that contributes to lower fibre strength, nep formation and poor dye uptake (Bradow and Bauer, 1997) Further, fibre uniformity is a measure of the fibre length distribution in a sample A low uniformity index value indicates that there are shorter fibres (< 12.7 mm in length) in a sample than one with a high fibre uniformity for cotton of the same upper half mean length Similar to present findings, El-Zik et al., (2000) reported that late sowing in the season adversely affected uniformity ratio Baloch et al., (2001) also communicated analogous results that late sowing of cotton resulted in lower uniformity ratio of cotton Thus present investigation indicates that fibre uniformity is affected both by sowing date as well as genotypic material; however, the later one seems to have more impact on fibre uniformity Bednarz et al., (2005) reported that uniformity was a genetically controlled character which could be improved by selection Seed index is an important component of seed cotton yield and is expressed as the weight of 100 seeds The 4106 Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(8): 4098-4107 decrease in the seed index in later sowing dates might be attributed to the poor development of seeds and bolls under delayed sowing conditions due to unfavourable temperature resulting in reduction in boll weight References Arshad, M., Wajid, A Maqsood, M Hussain, K Aslam M and Ibrahim, M., 2007, Response of growth, yield and quality of different cotton cultivars to sowing dates Pak J Agri Sci., 44(2): 208-212 Baloch, M., S.H Ghaloo and A.A Rajper 2002 Are cotton fiber characters under influence of planting dates? Life Sci Int J., 1(1): 1-5 Bednarz, C.W., Shurley, W.D and Anthony W.S., 2005, Yield, quality, and profitability of cotton produced at varying plant densities Agron J., 97: 235-240 Elayan, E D., Sohair, Abdalla, A M A and Abdel Gawad, 2015, Effect of delaying planting date on yield, fiber and yarn quality properties in some cultivars and promising crosses of Egyptian cotton American-Eurasian J Agric Environ Sci., 15(5): 754-763 El-Debaby, A S, Hammam G Y, Nagib, M A., 1995, Effect of planting dates, N and P application levels on growth characters of Giza 80 cotton cultivar Annals Agric Sci Moshtohor, 33: 44154 Khalid Usman, Ayatullah, T., Niamatullah Khan and Sohrab Khan, 2016, Genotype-by-sowing date interaction effects on cotton yield and quality in irrigated condition of Dera ismail khan, Pakistan Pak J Bot., 48(5): 19331944 How to cite this article: Vinayak Hosamani, B.M Chittapur, Mallikarjun, A.S Halepyati, Satyanarayana Rao, M.B Patil, N.L Rajesh and Venkatesh Hosamani 2018 Lint Quality as Influenced by of Time of Planting in Bt Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) Cultivars in TBP Irrigation Command Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci 7(08): 4098-4107 doi: https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2018.708.426 4107 ... Rajesh and Venkatesh Hosamani 2018 Lint Quality as Influenced by of Time of Planting in Bt Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) Cultivars in TBP Irrigation Command Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci 7(08):... Late sowing resulted in decrease in opened bolls, increased pest attack and reduction in yield Early sowing of the crop helped in the timely sowing of the succeeding rabi crops Planting time differs... early planting of cotton Micronaire indicates an indirect measure of cotton fibre gravimetric fineness (mass per unit length) and is significantly influenced by sowing dates, genotypes and their interactions