A precise, prescribed manner of recording (or mapping) for detailed analysis, cotton plant growth. Mapping records the location and stage of fruit by its position on each node of all vegetative and fruiting branches. Plant maps are often used to determine nodes above white bloom, nodes above cracked boll, and fruit retention and to compartmentalize and compare fruit retention on selected horizontal or vertical zones of the cotton plant. Modified mapping systems are available that focus on particular vertical zones of cotton, such as first position only.