Punjabrao Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola-444104
A field experiment was conducted during 1978, 1979 and 1980 to study the causes of red leaf and estimate the loss in yield due to premature leaf reddening in hirsutum cotton. Physiological analysis of hirsutum cotton varities Varlaxmi, H-4, L.147 and DHY-286 indicated that the reduction in moisture content and nitrogen in leaves caused reddening. There was a marked reduction in length of midrib, length and diameter of boll, number of bolls, weight of wool per boll, yield per plant, staple length and ginning percentage due to premature leaf reddening. Maximum reduction in seed cotton yield per plant was observed in H-4 (33.7%) and Varlaxmi (26.4%) as compared to DHY-286 and L-147 having 16.1% and 11.6% respectively.
