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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 June 2017
Field experiments were conducted in Alabama from 1992 through 1994 to evaluate the potential of the methyl ester of bensulfuron applied at sublethal rates as a plant growth regulator for reducing plant height and boll rot in cotton. Bensulfuron at 0.017 and 0.034 g ai/ha or mepiquat chloride at 10 g ai/ha was applied POST alone at the pinhead square or early-bloom stage of cotton growth or sequentially at 0.017 followed by (fb) 0.017 g/ha, 0.034 fb 0.034 g/ha of bensulfuron and 5 fb 5, 10 fb 10, 10 fb 20, or 20 fb 20 g/ha of mepiquat chloride. Mepiquat chloride had no effect on yield in 1992 and 1994 but decreased yield when applied sequentially in 1993. Bensulfuron was generally detrimental to first position fruit retention, and it delayed maturity. Treatments that reduced plant height did not reduce boll rot. Bensulfuron treatments that reduced plant height also reduced yield; therefore, the potential for its use as a growth regulator in cotton appears limited.