RESUMO
In a field study, the quantitative changes of bacterial, actinomycetic and fungal populations on the leaf surface of transgenic Bt cotton (GK-12) and non-transgenic Bt cotton (Simian No. 3) were monitored at seedling, squaring, flowering and boll-opening stages, respectively, and the diversity of bacterial physiological groups was analyzed at flowering and boll-opening stages. The results showed that there was a positive correlation between the quantity of culturable microorganisms and the development of cotton. The total number of bacteria, fungi and actinomyces began to rise at seedling stage, reached its peak at flowering stage, and decreased markedly at boll-opening stage. The Simpson index, Shannon-Wiener index, and evenness index of bacterial physiological groups were higher at flowering stage, but lower at boll-opening stage on GK-12 than on Simian No. 3.