The obvious symptoms of waterlogging response in cotton are leaf chlorosis (yellowing) and dropping squares & bolls.

In Australia, cotton is generally grown using furrow irrigation on cracking grey clays with slow drainage, and is therefore usually subjected to some degree of waterlogging.

Degree days are commonly used by industry and researchers to estimate expected crop development. This assumes that cotton's potential development is largely a function of temperature.

Water use efficiency is a key issue for the Australian cotton industry. For the individual producer the focus is to maximise returns from a limited resource.