Three planting-date windows [early — 3 weeks before (i.e., 26–29 April) the recommended optimum planting window; timely — the commonly recommended optimum planting window of 16–19 May; and late — 3 weeks after (i.e., 6–9 June) the recommended optimum planting window] and three planting patterns (Solid — solidrow stand; Skip 2×1 — two rows planted, one row skipped; and Skip 2×2 — two rows planted, two rows skipped) were evaluated to determine their influence on abundance and population dynamics of arthropods during 3 years in cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., on the Texas Rolling Plains. Arthropod species sampled included thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande); cotton fleahopper, Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Reuter); cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover; and bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie). Planting date significantly influenced aphid abundance. Fewer aphids were found in early-planted cotton (1.0 per leaf) compared with timely (2.3 per leaf) or late (1.8 per leaf) planted cotton. Similarly, bollworms were more abundant in early- and late-planted cotton (157 and 204% greater, respectively) than in optimally planted cotton. Planting pattern did not significantly influence abundance of thrips or cotton fleahopper. Conversely, consistently more cotton aphids (2.2 per leaf) were found in Skip 2×2 planted cotton, followed by Skip 2×1 (1.8 aphids per leaf) and Solid (1.2 aphids per leaf). Abundance of bollworms did not significantly vary with planting pattern. With fewer planted rows, Skip 2×2 yield, at 348 kg per hectare, was significantly less than that of Skip 2×1 (414 kg per hectare) or Solid (409 kg per hectare), yet marked improvement in most lint-quality parameters was noted for both skip-row plantings. This study provides evidence that a Skip 2×1 planting pattern in mid-May seems to be the best production scenario for dryland cotton in the semi-arid region of Texas.