Planting Density Induced Changes in Cotton Biomass Yield, Fiber Quality, and Phosphorus Distribution under Beta Growth Model

High input costs combined with multiple management and material inputs have threatened cotton productivity. We hypothesize that this problem can be addressed by a single fertilization at flowering with late sowing in a moderately populated plant stand. Field experiments were conducted to evaluate the cotton biomass accumulation, phosphorus dynamics, and fiber quality under three planting densities (low, 3 &times
104
moderate, 6 &times
and dense, 9 &times
104 ha&minus
1) and two cultivars (Zhongmian-16 and J-4B). High planting density had 6.2 and 12.6% larger stems and fruiting nodes m&minus
2, while low density produced a 37.5 and 59.4% maximum height node ratio. Moderate density produced 26.4&ndash
15.5%, 24.7&ndash
12.6%, and 10.5&ndash
13.6% higher biomass accumulation rate at the peak bloom, boll set, and plant removal stages over low and high density in both years, respectively. J-4B produced a higher reproductive organs biomass yield when compared with Zhongmian-16 in both years. This higher biomass formation was due to both the higher average (0.8 VT kg&middot
ha&minus
1&middot
d&minus
1) and maximum (1.0 VM kg&middot
1) reproductive organ phosphorus uptake, respectively. Plants with low density had 5.3&ndash
18.5%, 9.5&ndash
15%, and 7.8&ndash
12.8% greater length, strength, and micronaire values over moderate and dense plants, respectively. Conclusively, moderate density with J-4B is a promising option for improved biomass, phosphorus acquisition, and fiber quality under a short season.