Abstract: Under the condition of satisfactory supply of fertilizers and water for cotton growth, three cotton cuttivars with different maturity types were used in the experiment. Different boll loads were formed through picking blooming flowers in a cotton plant. Effects of different boll loads on major developmental traits were studied. The results showed that boll load affected the development of plant height, total length of branches, total number of nodes very significantly. The more the boll boad is , the more it will affect these traits. The cumulative effect will become larger as the development time increases. However, boll load has not a significant effect on the leaf number of the main stem and the average lengty of internode of brances. Based on the results , the relationship between vegatative growth and reproductive growth was analyzed. The optimum boll load in a cotton plant was estimated for a specific land, and the most direct reason for plant over growth was further assured to be high abscission rate and low boll load. The meaning from the experimert for cultivation reseach was also discussed.

Key words: Cotton (G,Hirsutum L.), Boll load, Reproductive growth, Vegetative growth