Effect of planter type and seed variety on seedling emergence uniformity and seed cotton yield in Fars province

The establishment of an acceptable population of cotton seedlings is important to obtain high yields. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of planter type and seed variety on cotton seedling emergence uniformity and irrigated seed cotton yield. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with split-plot arranged in three replications. The seed varieties were in five levels of T2 (V1), Karisma (V2), Lidiya (3), Edisa (V4), B440 (V5) as the main plot and four cotton planter type as the subplot include: grain drill with knife opener and conical press wheel (P1), cultivation combination with cultivator (seed drill) with single disk opener and bar covering device (P2), row crop planter with runner opener and rubber smooth-crown press wheel (P3) and direct drill with double disk opener and double rubber band press wheel (P4). The results showed that variety and planter type had a significant effect on sowing depth, speed of emergence, plant distance, boll number, and seed cotton yield. The P2 treatment compared to P1, P3, and P4, caused sowing depth increasing by 39.5%, and emergence speed reduction by 52.1%. The maximum and the minimum number of boll was observed for V3 × P3 and V4 × P2 treatments, respectively. The findings revealed that seed cotton yield influenced by different planters was in the order P3>P4>P1>P2. The results of factor analysis indicated that sowing depth, plant distance, and boll number were identified as the most effective indicators for sowing performance and cotton morphological indexes.