vegetative growth Archives

Tight node spacing on cotton for high yields

Cotton is commonly grown with high rates of nitrogen and multiple aggressive PGR applications to keep internodes tight and increase yields. If you think that is a bit like driving by holding both the accelerator and the brake to the floor, you would be correct.

In this podcast episode on vegetative vs reproductive nutrients, I describe how to manage nutrition to produce rapid vegetative growth and tightly spaced nodes at the same time, producing high yields and high-quality fiber at the same time.

The nutrition on this field has been managed differently than the mainstream. Instead of having excessive vegetative growth, this field has almost too little, partially because of cover crop residue tying up nitrogen. No PGRs have been applied, node spacing is tight, and the crop is on track for an exceptional yield.

And isn’t the photo just beautiful? Life in agriculture is just awesome, isn’t it?

P.S. I am hosting a Book Discussion on the questions and ideas you raised from Quality Agriculture, tomorrow, August 28th, at 12:00 EDT. You can register here and bring your questions! See you then.

Optimum node spacing to increase yield potential

It is possible to produce fruiting buds and nodes with less than half the distance between them than what is common. This is true for many different crops.

Shoot length is determined by the amount of vegetative growth energy that is present within the plant. The node spacing is determined by the amount of reproductive growth energy, and the balance between the two forms of energy.

It is possible to produce an eighteen-inch long blueberry shoot with 24 buds along those eighteen inches. Or with only six buds on those same eighteen inches. Imagine the difference in future yield potential.

The same concept is true for most reproductive crops, tree fruit, nuts, vegetables, grains. Basically, any crop that has the capacity to produce multiple buds per node, or vary node spacing.

Learning to manage vegetative vs reproductive growth energy, and the mineral balances that determine this balance can result in some very high returns on knowledge.