Abstract:
Temperature plays many important roles in the growth and development of cotton. Low temperatures after sowing increase the time to emergence and reduce seedling vigour often leading to poor establishment, poor early growth and increased risk of seedling diseases. The timing of crop maturity, yield and fibre quality may also be affected. In addition there is some evidence to suggest that high temperatures may impact negatively on crop development. Research is being conducted to improve our understanding of the impact of temperature extremes on cotton performance. These studies will help improve the precision of both research and management in scenarios where extremes of temperature are likely. This paper describes this ongoing work and presents some results that have enabled better estimates of crop development and attempts to quantity the impact of cold shocks.
