Changes in Within-Boll Yield Components Explain Cotton Yield and Quality Variation Across Planting Dates under a Double Cropping System of Cotton-Wheat

•Yield differences between planting dates can be traced to within-boll yield components.•Quantifying the contribution of within-boll yield components to lint yield variation.•Within boll, the lint mass per seed explains the most yield variation between planting dates.•The daily maximum temperature during the flowering and boll development stage showed the highest correlation with lint yield.