There could be a benefit in the variable-rate application of
plant growth regulators in cotton fields which show significant
variations in growth, according to Stephan Maas, professor of
Agricultural Microclimatology, Texas Tech University. Maas was a
speaker at InfoAg Mid-South, a regional precision agriculture
conference held in Tunica, Miss.  Maas explained that in an
ideal situation, if there is little variability in plant
maturity in a field, blanket applications of plant growth
regulator can very effectively “shift the growth of the cotton
plant from vegetative to reproductive, to make more bolls.
“Mepiquat chloride can be applied at low rates beginning around
pinhead square, which is the mark of the beginning of the
reproductive growth stage in cotton. Later on, it can be applied
in higher rates when you get into bloom.”  Maas stressed that
yield response depends on the condition of cotton plants at the
time of application.  “If mepiquat chloride was applied to
plants that showed a vegetative tendency