Response to deficit irrigation of morphological, yield and fiber quality traits of upland (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and Pima (G. barbadense L.) cotton in the Texas High Plains

Cotton (Gossypium spp.) production around the world often occurs in water limiting environments. Although Upland (G. hirsutum) and Pima (G. barbadense) cottons have been evaluated under conditions of water stress before; these two species are rarely compared to each other. This may be due to differences in irrigation management and environmental constraints (i.e. season length). In 2014 and 2015, two Upland cultivars and two Pima germplasm lines were evaluated at Lubbock, TX, USA. Plant architecture, boll retention, lint yield and fiber quality were assessed under three deficit subsurface drip irrigation levels. Crop water use was evaluated using soil water balance in conjunction with neutron probe soil water content measurements. In 2014 during flowering at the high irrigation rate, Upland cultivars extracted significantly (p