The effect of pre-drought mepiquat chloride management on cotton sensitivity to drought during peak water demands

•Aggressive mepiquat chloride treatment can mitigate drought risk but also penalize yield in a well-watered environment.•Aggressive mepiquat chloride treatment produced greater seed surface area, seed number boll-1, and boll mass.•Boll density was primarily associated with lint yield.•Only fiber uniformity and strength were impacted by aggressive mepiquat chloride treatment.