Variation in Fiber and Yarn Properties of Identical Checks in Yield Tests and Nursery Plots of Upland Cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L.1

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Fiber strength, fiber length, and yarn strength of the cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) variety ‘Coker 201’ and the experimental strain Pee Dee 2165 were significantly higher for 3 of 4 years when grown as checks in yield tests rather than in nursery rows at Florence, S. C. Planting dates and population density caused very little variation in fiber and yarn quality. Under some conditions field location or soil type resulted in variation in fiber and yarn quality, but did not account for differences in fiber properties and yarn strength of each check between yield tests and nursery rows. Most of the variation in fiber properties and yarn strength readings was attributed to sampling method, where 50 boll samples were harvested from one‐fourth the area in nursery rows as in yield trial plots. The importance of adequate checks and methods of sampling and measuring quality factors is emphasized when comparisons are made between experimental strains, and particularly across locations and years.