Climate & Soil

Cotton is grown from sea level to moderate elevations not exceeding 1000m where the climate is tropical with rainfall 500 to 750mm. Excessive rain at any stage is harmful to the crop. It can be grown in a wide variety of soils. A deep homogenous fertile soil is desirable.

Cotton varieties, spacing and duration

Seed rate and sowing

Plough the land three to four times and form ridges and furrows. Dibble the seeds on the sides of the furrows. Use basalin at the rate of 2.5 l/ha before irrigating the field to control the weeds.

[Note : Treat the seeds with carbendazim 50 WP (2g/kg) or Trichoderma viridae talc preparation (4 g/kg) before sowing.]

Intercultural operations

Manuring

Apply FYM or compost @ 12.5 t/ha for rainfed crop and 25 t/ha for irrigated crop. Apply N:P₂O₅:K₂O each @ 35 kg/ha as basal dressing. Topdress with 35 kg N per ha about 45 days after sowing.

After cultivation

Thin the crop when the plants are 15 to 20cm high retaining two seedlings per hill. Retain only one seedling per hill in the case of hybrids. Timely weeding and hoeing will ensure good crop growth.

Irrigation

In the case of irrigated crop, irrigate the plants once in two weeks. Copious irrigation during flowering will ensure good pod setting and good fibre quality.

Plant protection

• Against sucking pests like jassids, aphids, and thrips, spray imidacloprid (100ml/ha) on 20^th day and 40^th day.

• To control white fly, use neem oil (3.0l/ha) or phosalone (2.5-3l/ha)

• For bollworm, spray quinalphos or chlorpyrifos (2-3l/ha), starting from 55^th day of sowing at 15 days interval or more depending on the pest prevalence.

• For bacterial blight disease, use streptocycline (50g/ha+copperoxy chloride 1.5kg/ha).

• For grey mildew, carbendazim @ 250g/ha may be used.

• For Alternaria leaf spot use copper oxychloride @ 1.5kg/ha

Harvesting

The bolls start bursting 100-120 days after sowing and will be ready for harvest at this stage.