Performance and economic analysis of Gossypium hirsutum under varying plant spacing and nutrient treatments in central plain zone, U.P.

Abstract:

Gossypium hirsutum ranks among the leading commercial crops of the world, chiefly because its lint sustains the textile sector. To determine how planting geometry and fertilizer regimes influence agronomic performance, an on-farm trial was carried out with the cotton line H-1300 during the kharif season of 2024 on the Agriculture Farm of Swami Vivekanand Subharti University, Meerut. The trial examined how these variables shape crop development, yield attributes, actual yield, fibre quality and profitability. A Randomized Block Design carrying three replications was used to evaluate seven treatment combinations that included an unfertilized check at conventional spacing (67.5 × 30 cm), the recommended fertilizer schedule at both conventional and narrowed row widths, and elevated fertilizer levels at the narrowed spacing combined with soil-applied zinc sulphate, a foliar application of urea plus diammonium phosphate, or a foliar application of magnesium sulphate plus zinc sulphate. At sowing, one-half of the nitrogen along with the entire phosphorus and potassium requirement was placed in the soil; the balance nitrogen was delivered in two equal top-dressings at thirty and sixty days after sowing. Picking was carried out as bolls opened fully. Under the treatment combining the elevated fertilizer level, narrowed spacing and a two per cent urea plus two per cent diammonium phosphate foliar spray, the crop registered peak values for plant height, monopodial and sympodial branches, fresh and dry biomass per plant, boll number per plant and per square metre, boll weight, and for yields of seed cotton, lint, cotton seed and stick, as well as for fibre quality traits and financial returns; the magnesium sulphate plus zinc sulphate spray was a close second. The study therefore identifies genotype H-1300 combined with the higher fertilizer schedule, closer row arrangement and the urea plus diammonium phosphate foliar spray as the most productive and profitable package for cotton growers in the Central Plain Zone of Uttar Pradesh.