Cotton Variety Trials in Puerto Rico

Abstract

Sea Island cotton, which has been cultivated in Puerto Rico for many years, is an important agricultural commodity for the minor crop growers or sharecroppers. With good management it is economically practical from the point of view of the dollar yield per acre. The production of cotton has fluctuated considerably, as it has had no definite market since the cotton-ginning company suspended operations in the Island. The milling of cotton in Puerto Rico could probably do most to solve the cotton problem in a more permanent and satisfactory way. In the light of our experimental data from both field and the laboratory it is clearly shown that this type of cotton produces satisfactory yields of fine lint. Sealand is a productive variety of cotton with a lower-quality fiber and good agronomic characteristics which could be used for the production of cotton at lower costs. When the climate and weather conditions are suitable, additional good crops of cotton can be obtained from the same plants when the Sea Island, Montserrat variety, and Sealand are properly pruned.