Table 2.
Effect of ultraviolet‐B radiation on cotton flower characters
| UV‐B treatment (kJ m–2 d–1) | ||||
| Reproductive character | 0 | 8 | 16 | s.e.d |
| Flower length (mm) | 56·8 | 51·5 | 47·3 | 1·57** |
| Petal length (mm) | 50·5 | 46·0 | 41·6 | 2·12* |
| Petal area (mm–2) | 5910 | 5130 | 4130 | 354·6** |
| Bract length (mm) | 45·1 | 42·1 | 35·7 | 3·34 |
| Bract area (mm–2) | 1811 | 1529 | 1036 | 172·7** |
| Anthers (no. per flower) | 100·2 | 85·0 | 67·5 | 4·56*** |
| Staminal column length (mm) | 20·7 | 21·2 | 21·2 | 1·35 |
Petal, bract and staminal column lengths were measured and anther number counted on a fully opened flower at 50 d after emergence. Petal and bract area is cumulative of all petals and bracts, respectively, of a single flower.
*** P ≤ 0·001; ** P ≤ 0·01; * P ≤ 0·05.