Field Crop 2025, Vol.8, No.4, 195-203 http://cropscipublisher.com/index.php/fc 195 Review Article Open Access Optimizing Planting Density and Row Configuration to Improve Cotton Yield and Fiber Quality ZhenLi Hainan Institute of Biotechnology, Haikou, 570206, Hainan, China Corresponding email: zhen.li@hibio.org Field Crop, 2025, Vol.8, No.4 doi: 10.5376/fc.2025.08.0019 Received: 01 Jun., 2025 Accepted: 12 Jul., 2025 Published: 01 Aug., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Li, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Li Z., 2025, Optimizing planting density and row configuration to improve cotton yield and fiber quality, Field Crop, 8(4): 195-203 (doi: 10.5376/fc.2025.08.0019) Abstract Cotton, as a globally significant economic crop, its yield and fiber quality are directly related to the textile industry and farmers' income. Planting density and row spacing configuration are key cultivation factors that affect the population structure, light energy utilization efficiency and yield and quality formation of cotton. This study reviews the regulatory effects of planting density on the photosynthetic efficiency, boll formation characteristics and fiber traits of cotton, explores the mechanism of row spacing configuration in improving population structure, root distribution and fiber consistency, and focuses on analyzing the interaction effect between density and row spacing. On this basis, combined with practical cases from typical regions (the Yellow River Basin in China, the southern United States and the cotton-growing areas in Central Asia), The application experience of optimizing density and row spacing under different ecological conditions was summarized. This study also focused on molecular and physiological mechanisms such as photosynthetic gene expression, hormone regulation, and root-crown coordination, providing theoretical support for a deeper understanding of the relationship between cultivation measures and fiber quality formation. This study aims to provide a reference path for the development of precise cultivation models and smart agriculture, promoting the coordinated improvement of cotton yield and fiber quality. Keywords Cotton; Planting density; Line spacing configuration; Output; Fiber quality 1 Introduction Cotton (Gossypiumspp.) is a very important crop, and humans have been cultivating it for thousands of years. It is the main source of natural fibers in the textile industry and also provides jobs and income for millions of people around the world. China is one of the major cotton-producing countries in the world and also an important exporter of textiles. Cotton holds a very important position in China's national economy. Nowadays, people have increasingly higher demands for cotton. They not only hope for good fiber quality but also expect more efficient and environmentally friendly cultivation methods. Therefore, improving the cultivation methods of cotton becomes particularly important to meet the needs of industrial development and economic growth (Wang et al., 2019). Planting density and row spacing are the key factors influencing cotton yield and fiber quality. They will alter the canopy structure, the utilization of light, photosynthetic efficiency and the allocation of resources within the plant. High-density planting can usually increase the yield of lint cotton by increasing the number of cotton bolls per unit area, but the competition for light and nutrients is also more intense, which may lead to a decrease in the weight of single bolls and a reduction in fiber quality parameters such as strength and Macron value (Stephenson et al., 2011; Goren and Tan, 2024). On the contrary, low-density planting is beneficial to fiber quality, but the total output may decline (Zhi et al., 2016; Cordeiro et al., 2022). The configuration of row spacing, such as equal rows, narrow rows or double rows, can also affect the canopy structure, light distribution and leaf drop efficiency. Some models can increase output and also improve the quality of mechanical harvesting (Wang et al., 2024). However, the optimal combination of density and row spacing varies in different regions, varieties and environmental conditions. When the density is too high, it may lead to a decrease in output and a deterioration in fiber quality. Although domestic and international research has made much progress in exploring the best planting model, how to balance yield, quality and resource utilization efficiency in different environments remains a challenge (Galdi et al., 2022).
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