Growth, yield and economics in high density planting system and canopy management practices in Bt cotton under rainfed condition

The field experiment entitled “Growth, yield and economics in high density planting system and canopy management practices in Bt cotton under rainfed condition.” was conducted at Cotton Research Unit Field, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola during the Kharif season 2024-2025. Three separate trials were conducted using a Randomized Block Design to set up the experiment. Eight different treatments were applied, each involving different methods of managing the plant canopy and varying levels of HDPS. Experimental results revealed that, mepiquat chloride @45ppm at square initiation and 15 days after first spray had least crop growth namely plant height (75.20 cm), number of functional leaves, leaf area and highest chlorophyll content index (37.13), total dry matter accumulation at harvest (199.17 g/plant), also it recorded significantly higher quantity of sympodial branches per plant (17.77), no of bolls per plant (27.42), seed cotton yield per plant (103.67 grams), harvest index (42.15) which ultimately led to maximum seed cotton yield of 2781 kg per hectare, over all the other canopy management practices and control. However, the mepiquat chloride @45ppm at square initiation and 15 days after first spray registered 20% yield increase over control treatment.The highest feasible gross monetary return (Rs. 203720 ha^-1), net monetary return (Rs. 133474 ha^-1) and B:C ratio (2.90) were recorded in mepiquat chloride @ 45 ppm at square initiation and 15 days after first spray over all the other treatments.