Performance of Bollgard I with different plant spacing and in presence of refuge crops

Abstract

Different biotic and abiotic factors affect the growth and yield of Bt cotton. Appropriate agronomic practices like plant density and presence of refuge crops have profound effect on the development and final outcome of the crop. A field experiment was conducted to assess the performance of Bollgard I variety (cotton 1007-9810 BGI) of Bt cotton under different plant spacing (30 x 30 cm, 60 x 60 cm and 80 x 80 cm) and in presence of 50% refuge nBt cotton (cotton Mahesh) which is a different cultivar, at Horticulture Research Farm, Department of Horticulture, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh). It was noted that plant height was found significantly higher in closer spacing whereas monopodial branches plant-1 (1.73, 1.60), sympodial branches plant-1 (16.66, 12.33), bolls plant-1 (20.33, 17.44), average boll weight plant-1 (3.30, 3.23), seeds plant-1(452.99, 411.66) and lint weight (g) plant-1 (17.61, 14.02) were recorded higher in 80 x 80 cm followed by 60 x 60 cm, and 30 x 30 cm. Comparison of Bt yield attributes with refuge nBt from the field trial containing 50 % refuge nBt cotton recorded maximum yield attributes in Bt cotton.