Sowing configurations and yield and cotton fiber quality.

We evaluated, in two locations, production and fiber quality of cultivar IAC 23 cotton plants in ultra-narrow row, narrow row and conventional row spacing, varying number of plants by linear meter. Two experiments had been lead, one in Piracicaba - SP and another one in Campinas - SP, both in the crop year 2001/02. The experimental design was randomized blocks, in a factorial scheme, with 4 replications, being three spacing rows: 0.38m (ultra-narrow), 0.76m (narrow), and 0.95 m (conventional); and four densities (5, 8, 11, and 14 plants by linear meter). In Piracicaba, the production of cotton was 12% and 8,4 % superior in the ultra-narrow row and narrow row, respectively, when compared to the conventional row. In the ultra-narrow row in the smaller density of plants in the line, the production of cotton was 29.2% and 22.3% superior, respectively, to the productions of the narrow row and conventional row in the same number of plants in the line. The smaller spacing and higher plant density on the line, the smaller the number of bolls per plant at both locations. The agronomic characters of laboratory and the technological characteristics of the fiber were not modified by the populations of plants in the two studied environments.