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Determining the optimal plant architecture and canopy structure are important objectives in research on the breeding and cultivation of high-yielding crops. To address this challenge, a field experiment was conducted in Anyang, Henan, China, to assess cotton light interception, boll spatial distribution, leaf area index (LAI), plant height and biomass, lint yield and yield component during 2018–2019. Treatments including 10 cotton cultivars with belong to tower-shaped and tube-type canopy structure. Compared with compact cotton varieties, the loose and tower-shaped cotton varieties intercepted more light (average 28.6%) and had a higher LAI (average 34.2%), resulting in a higher cotton yield (average 14.8%). In addition, polynomial correlation showed that the maximum light interception rate occurred at the flowering and boll-forming stage, when the annual mean plant height (94.6 cm), LAI (3.58) and biomass (15,006 kg ha−1) all reached their peak. Moreover, yield was extremely significantly positively correlated with intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (IPAR) (R = 0.7) and positively correlated with light use efficiency (LUE) (R = 0.36). Overall, the results suggest that cotton cultivars with loose and tower-type canopy structures intercept more light and should be planted to increase cotton yield and LUE in the Yellow River basin of China and areas with similar conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) fallow farming system causes soil degeneration and cotton yield reduction. Cover cropping is commonly associated with improved soil fertility and crop productivity, while the effect of cover crops on soil quality and cotton productivity remains unclear in the region. Using a monoculture cotton (cotton-fallow) as the control, a field experiment was conducted to verify the impacts of cotton with two cover crops, Orychophragmus violaceus (cotton/O. violaceus) and Vicia villosa (cotton/V. villosa), on soil chemical properties and cotton productivity. The results showed that cotton/O. violaceus increased the soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), and available nitrogen (AN) by 5.77%, 2.03%, and 13.07% compared to cotton-fallow at a 0–100 cm soil depth, respectively. Cotton/O. violaceus developed relatively greater cotton biomass accumulation and higher cotton yield than cotton/V. villosa and cotton-fallow, an immediate cause of which was greater reproductive organ biomass accumulation and a larger number of bolls per unit area. Furthermore, SOM and TN had a significantly positive correlation with cotton biomass and yield. Cotton/O. violaceus were more conducive than cotton/V. villosa and cotton-fallow in the Yellow River basin of China and in other areas with similar requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field experiment was performed to assess the carbon footprint (CF) of four cropping systems to identify the sustainable cropping system. The four cropping systems were cotton monoculture (CM), winter wheat intercropped with cotton (WIC), wheat cropping followed by transplanted cotton (WTC) and direct-seeded cotton after winter wheat harvest (WDC). The CF calculated per unit area (CFa), yield (CFy), biomass (CFb) and economic output (CFe) increased in the order CM < WIC < WTC < WDC in the low-fertility plot and WIC < WTC < WDC < CM in the high-fertility plot. The results indicated that CM was the best cropping system in the low-fertility plot and presented CFa, CFy, CFb and CFe values of 4848.14 kg CO2eq ha−1 a−1, 0.41 kg CO2eq kg−1 a−1, 0.17 kg CO2eq kg−1 a−1 and 0.06 kg CO2eq ¥ a−1, respectively, whereas WIC was the cropping system with the lowest CFs in the high-fertility plot and presented CFa, CFy, CFb and CFe values of 14,410.70 kg CO2eq ha−1 a−1, 1.31 kg CO2eq kg−1a−1, 0.53 kg CO2eq kg−1 a−1 and 0.34 kg CO2eq ¥−1a−1, respectively. Thus, it can be concluded that improving cropping systems provides a good option for reducing CF and consequently mitigating climate change. Abbreviations: GHG: greenhouse gas; LCA: life cycle assessment; CF: carbon footprint; CFa: The CF calculated per unit area; CFy: The CF calculated per yield; CFb: The CF calculated biomass; CFe: The CF calculated per unit economic output; CM: cotton monoculture cropping system; WIC: wheat intercropped with cotton cropping; WTC: wheat cropping followed by transplanted cotton; WDC: direct-seeded cotton after wheat cropping; IPCC: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; CO2eq: CO2 equivalent; SOC: soil organic carbon; PAS: publicly available specification [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]