Effects of late planting on fiber quality and within-boll yield components as mediated by sucrose metabolism in cotton bolls

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of late planting on sucrose metabolism in cotton bolls and the relationship to fiber properties and within-boll yield components. Two cotton lines A201 and A705 were employed in a sowing date experiment where two temperature regimes during boll maturation period were created at mean daily temperature of 26.8°C, 28.3°C for early planting and 25.2°C, 23.1°C for late planting in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Boll size, seed mass per boll, seed index and fiber length were increased, and lint percentage was decreased by late planting. Greater cell wall invertase activity and the resultant hexose concentration in fibers were observed in late planting, and thus led to decreased osmotic potential accounting for the enhanced fiber length. Similarly, late planting increased the maximum of vacuolar invertase activity in ovules occurring at 5 days post anthesis (DPA) and hexose concentrations in embryos from 10 DPA afterwards which may favor embryo cell division, and thus increase final seed size. Our data indicate that acid invertase and hexose are implicated in the formation of within-boll yield components and fiber properties as affected by the lower temperature regime due to late planting.