COTTON

Cotton is one of the most important fiber and cash crop not only for India but of the entire world. It plays a dominant role in the industrial and agricultural economy of the country. It provides the basic raw material to cotton textile industry. In India it provides direct livelihood to 6 million farmers and about 40-50 million people are employed in cotton trade and its processing. In addition, cotton is a water thirsty crop and around 6% of the water for irrigation in India is used for cotton cultivation. In India, cotton is grown on a large scale in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Gujarat is the largest producer of cotton in India followed by Maharashtra and Punjab.

Mealy bugs: Found under surface of leaves in clusters and secrete wax like subtsance. Due to honey dew like secretion, sooty mould is developed and affected plant gives sick, black appearance.

Grow Maize, bajra and jawar as barrier crops. Do not throw mealy bug infested uprooted plants in water channels or vacant spaces, instead burn them. Do not allow congress grass to grow around cotton fields, as they increase the possibility of attack by mealy bug. To control spread of mealy bugs in newer areas, avoid movement of human beings or animals from infected area to healthy crop. At initial stage, Neem seed kernel extract (NSKE 5%) 50 ml/ltr + Detergent powder@1 gm/ltr can be sprayed as spot application on infested plants. In case of severe infestation, spray Profenophos@500 ml/acre in 150 Ltr of water. mix one teaspoon washing powder in each 15 Ltr tank Or Quinalphos25 EC@5 ml/liter of water or Chlorpyriphos20 EC @3 ml/liter of water
 

White fly: Nymphs are of yellow oval while adult are of yellow body covered with a white waxy bloom. They suck the sap from leaves, which lead into poor photosynthesis. It also acts as a medium of transferring leaf curl virus disease. In severe infestation defoliation, shedding of boll and poor opening of boll is observed. Develops sooty mould and plant give sick, black appearance.

Avoid continuous growing of cotton in same field. Adopting crop rotation with non-preferred hosts such as sorghum, ragi, maize etc. Avoid excess vegetative growth for that avoids excess use of nitrogen. Do timely sowing of crop. Keep field clean. Cultivation of most preferred alternate host crops like brinjal, bhindi, tomato, tobacco and sunflower may be avoided. Install yellow sticky traps for monitoring white fly (2 traps/acre). If infestation white flies is observed then to control, Spray Triazophos @3 ml/Ltr or Thiacloprid @4.5 gm/Ltr water or Acetamiprid@4 gm or 75 WP Acephate@20 gm/10 Ltr water or Imidachloprid@40 ml/acre dissolved in 200 liter of water or Thiamethoxam@40 gm/acre using 200 liter water.
 

Thrips: Both nymphs and adults lacerate & feed the sap from under surface of leaves. Upper side of leaf turns brown and lower side becomes silvery white.

Seed treatment with imidacloprid 70 WS@7 gm/kg protect the crop from aphids, leaf-hoppers and thrips up to 8 weeks. Spray any one of the insecticides like Methyl demeton 25 EC@160 ml/acre, Buprofezin 25%SC@350 ml/acre, Fipronil 5% SC@500-1000 ml/acre, Imidacloprid 70% WG @10-30 gm/ml, Thiamethoxam 25% WG @30 gm/acre in 200 Ltr of water per acre.
 

For Desi cotton it requires sandy loam to clayey soil and for American cotton varieties it requires loamy soil for its cultivation. It can be grown on all type of soil having pH ranges between 6 to 8. Deep, friable, well drained and fertile soil are most suitable for crop cultivation. Sandy, saline or water logged soils are not suitable for cotton cultivation. Provide proper drainage during rainy season. The depth of soil should not be less than 20-25cm.

Leaf Reddening
Initially observed in mature leaves then spread throughout canopy. Leaf reddening can be corrected by proper fertilizer management. Take Foliar spray of MgSO4@1kg, followed by Urea@2kg/100Ltr water.

Nitrogen Deficiency
Plant growth get stunted and leaves become light green color. Lower leaves show yellowing. In severe conditions, leaves get brown and dry.

Phosphorus Deficiency
Younger Leaves show more dark green appearance. Older leaves become small in size and developed purple and red pigmentation.

Potash Deficiency
Due to potash deficiency, shading of leaves is observed also boll opening is not proper. Leaves get curled and become dry.

Zinc Deficiency
Growth get affected and plant become stunted. Terminal buds show drying off followed by distorted tips or young leaves.

American cotton varieties:
RS 2013: It is resistant to cotton leaf curl virus and is moderately resistant to American boll worms and Jassids. It has an average height of 125-130cm. It produces yellow color flowers and has medium sized bolls. The variety gets mature within 165-170 days. It gives an average yield of 22-24 qtl/acre of seed cotton and gives 35% of ginning outturn.

RS 810: It is resistant to cotton leaf curl virus disease. The average plant height is 130-140cm. It produces yellow color flowers and has medium sized bolls. It produces yellow color flowers and has medium sized bolls. It gives an average yield of 22-24 qtl/acre of seed cotton and gives 35% of ginning out turn.

RST 9: The variety has light green color foliage and has light yellow color flowers. It has an average height of 130-140cm. The variety gets mature within 160-200 days.  The average boll weighs 3.5g. It has high ginning percentage. The first irrigation of this variety can be delayed upto 50 days.

RS 875: It has an average height of 100-110cm. It has medium size bolls having 3.5g of average weight per boll. It has higher percent of oil content than other recommended varieties. The variety gets mature within 150-160 days.

Ganganagar Ageti: It has an average height of 120-150cm.it has dark green color leaves and light yellow color flowers. It has medium size bolls having 2.5g of average weight per boll. The variety gets mature within 170-180 days.
 
Bikaneri Narma: It has an average height of 160-200cm. It has medium size bolls having 2.0g of average weight per boll. The variety gets mature within 160-200days. 

Bioseed Bunty BG II: It is high yielding American BT cotton variety. Plant height is about 150-170cm. It gives average yield of 8.8-10qtl/acre.

RCH 650BG II: It is high yielding American BT cotton variety. It is resistant to boll worms and Tobacco caterpillars. Plant height is about 150-160cm. It gives average yield of 8.8-10 qtl/acre.

MRCH - 6304 BG I: It is high yielding American BT cotton variety. It is resistant to boll worms and tobacco caterpillars. Ready to harvest within 165-170 days. It gives average yield of 10 qtl/acre.

Bioseed 6588 BG-II: Plant height is about 150-175cm. It is resistant to boll worms and Tobacco caterpillars. It gives average yield of 10-11.2 qtl/acre.

American cotton hybrid varieties:

Maru Vikas: It is a high yielding variety of American cotton. It has an average height of 135-145cm. It has medium sized leaves which are light green in color and having light yellow color flowers. It has medium size bolls having 4.5g of average weight per boll. The variety matures within 170-80 days and gives 35% of ginning out turn.

LHH 144

Sankar 4: Hybrid variety. Fiber length is about 1.06 to 1.10inch. Fiber is soft and white color.

Varahlakshmi: It is hybrid variety. Fiber length is about 2.2 to 3cm.

Desi cotton varieties:

RG 8: It has light yellow color flowers having red spots present on the inner side of petals. It has narrow leaves and oblong shape bolls. It is an early maturing variety which gives an average yield of 8-10 qtl/acre of cotton seed and has ginning percentage.

RG 18: The variety gets mature within 160-170 days. It has violet color leaves, pink color flowers having dark red color spots and medium sized boll having an average weight of 2.2g. It is resistant to root rot disease. It gives an average yield of 10-12 qtl/acre of cotton seed and gives 38% of ginning out turn.

VIRNAR: Medium duration Desi cotton variety. Fiber length is about 0.88 to 0.96 inch. Ginning percent is about 37%.

VAGAD KALYAN (RB-423): Early maturing variety. Suitable for rainfed situation. Plants are 80-90cm tall. Bolls are of medium size.

RBDV-7 (Pratap Kapi-1): Suitable for cultivation under rainfed conditions. Plant height is about 130cm. Bolls are of medium size with pointed tip.

PST 9: Medium duration variety. Stem and leaves are of green color. Mean fiber length is 22.5mm and ginning percentage is about 33%.

Desi cotton hybrid varieties:

RAJDH 9: The variety is released in 2005. The variety has an average height of 130-140cm. it has green color leaves, yellow color flowers and oblong shaped bolls. It gives an average yield of 10-11 qtl/acre of cotton seed and gives 39% of ginning out turn. The variety gets mature within 160-170 days.
 

Picking of bolls should be done when bolls are fully mature. Avoid picking of wet bolls, pick cotton free from dry leaves trash. Damaged boll should be picked separately and discarded for seed purpose. The first and last pickings are usually of low quality and should not be mixed with rest of the produce to fetch better price. Pick boll should be clean and dry to get good price. Do picking when there is no dew. Picking should be regularly done after every 7-8 days to avoid losses incurred due to fall of the cotton on ground. Delay in picking leads to falling of cotton on the ground which results in deterioration of quality. Harvest the American cotton at the interval of 15-20days and Desi cotton at 8-10 days interval. The picked kapas should be properly cleaned before taking to the market for sale.

It requires thorough land preparation for good germination and growth of crop. After removal of Rabi crop, irrigate field immediately then take ploughing of land with MB plough and planking. One deep ploughings is necessary followed by 2-3 harrowing. Carry out deep ploughing once in three years, it will help to keep check on perennial weeds also kill various soil borne pest and diseases.

After harvesting, Let the sheep, goats and other animals feed in the cotton field so that these animal can eat bollworm affected bolls and leaves. After last picking, remove the sticks along with roots. Bury remaining plant debris using furrow turning plough as sanitary measure. Before stacking bundles of sticks dislodge the burs and unopened bolls by beating them on ground or pluck them and burn them to kill larvae of boll worms. Two row tractor operated cotton stalk uprooter can be used for uprooting the stalks remained after harvest.

Time of sowing
Optimum time for sowing is in April to mid may.

Spacing
For American cotton use row to row distance of 60cm and plant to plant distance of 45cm. For Desi cotton variety, use row to row distance of 45cm and plant to plant distance of 30cm.

Few gaps arise due to failure of seed germination and mortality of seedling. To overcome this gap filling it is necessary, it must be filled by sowing 2-3 water soaked seeds/hill out of these keep only one healthy seedling after germination. Two weeks after sowing the weak/diseased/damaged seedlings should be removed by keeping a healthy seedling/hill.

Sowing Depth
Sowing should be done at depth of 4-5 cm.

Method of sowing
For sowing use seed drill for desi cotton while dibbling of seed is done in case of hybrids and Bt cotton. Square planting is beneficial compared to rectangular planting. Few gaps arise due to failure of seed germination and mortality of seedling. To overcome this gap filling is necessary. Two weeks after sowing the weak/diseased/damaged seedlings should be removed by keeping a healthy seedling/hill.

Seed Rate
For hybrids and BT cotton, use seed rate of 1kg/acre while for Desi varieties seed rate of 3-5 kg/acre is used.

Seed Treatment
Seed of cotton is covered by short fibre in American cotton. Before sowing, removal of this necessary as it will make difficulty for sowing. It can be removed by chemical and Non-chemical method.
In non chemical method, seeds are soaked in water overnight, and then next day rubbed with cowdung and wood ash or saw dust then dried in shed before sowing.
In chemical method, Depending upon the fibers on the seeds, mix the 400gm concentrated Sulphuric acid(Industrial grade) in per 4 kg seeds for American cotton and 300 gm for 3 kg Desi cotton seed for 2-3 minutes. It will burn all the fibers of seeds. Then 10Ltr of water in container, stir well and drained out the water. Wash the seeds for three times with normal water and then lime water (Sodium Bicarbonate@50gm/10Ltr of water) for 1min. Give one more washing then dry the seeds in shed.
Do not use metal or wood container instead use plastic or earthen pot and use plastic glove by operator for chemical method.
To protect from sucking pest attacks (upto 15-20 days) treat seeds with Imidacloprid (Confidor) or Thiamethoxam (CRUISER)@ 5-7gm/kg of seeds.

Due to wide spaced crop weeds pose serious threat. A weed free period of 50-60 days from sowing is necessary for good yield otherwise it may cause 60-80% reduction in yields. Manual, mechanical and chemical methods of weed control in combination are necessary for effective weed control. Carry out first manual hoeing 5-6 weeks after sowing or before first irrigation. Remaining hoeing should be done after each irrigation. Do not allow congress grass to grow around cotton fields, as they increase the possibility of attack by mealy bug. To control weeds after sowing of cotton but before its emergence take spray of Pendimethalin@25-33ml/10Ltr of water. Apply Paraquat (Gramoxone)24%WSC@500ml/acre or Glyphosate@1Ltr/acre in 100Ltr of water, 6 to 8 week after sowing when crop is 40-45cm in height. It is highly sensitive to the 2,4-D weedicide. Its vapors can cause serious injury to cotton even if sprayed in adjoining fields. Spraying of herbicide should be carried out either in morning hour or in evening hours.

Fertilizer Requirement (kg/acre)

Nutrient Requirement (kg/acre)

Judicious use of fertilizers, irrigation and clean cultivation will prevent early buildup of pests and help conserve natural enemies of pests. To enhance subsidiary growth to have maximum number of boll bearing branches, cut the top of growing point of main branch at around 5 foot height. For Desi cotton varieties, apply Nitrogen@20kg/acre in form of Urea@44kg/acre and Phosphorus@10kg/acre in form of SSP@63kg/acre. For Hybrid cotton varieties, double the fertilizer doses i.e. apply40kg of Nitrogen and 20kg of Phosphorus per acre. Apply Potash on the basis of soil test results. Apply whole dose of phosphorus and Potash (if needed) and apply half of Nitrogen fertilizer in last ploughing before sowing. Apply remaining half dose of Nitrogen at the appearance of first flower. In case of Zinc deficient soil, mix Zinc Sulphate@10kg/acre before seed sowing thoroughly in soil.

WSF: 80-100 days after sowing, if no or poor flowering is observed then to enhanced flowering spray with Multi micronutrient fertilizer(Micnelf-32)@750gm/acre/150Ltr of water. In case bt varieties to improve yield, spray with 13:0:45@10gm or Potash@5gm/Ltr of water at evening time on 85, 95 & 105th days after sowing. Also to get higher yield, take alternate sprays of Potassium@10gm/Ltr and DAP@20gm/Ltr (2-3 sprays each at 15days interval from first blooming). Sometime flower and square drop is observed then to control flower drop and to obtain good yield spray with Planofix(NAA) @4ml and Micnelf-16 or 32@120gm, Magnesium Sulphate@150gm/15Ltr water. Due to bad weather effect boll drop is seen then to control, spray 00:52:34@100gm+Humic acid(>12%)@30ml+Sticker@6ml in 15 Ltr water thrice at 10days interval. Leaf reddening is deficiency observed now a day. It cause mainly due to lack of nutrient management. It can be corrected by proper fertilizer management. For that take foliar spray of MgSO4@1kg, followed by Urea@2kg in 100Ltr water.
 

Cotton required four to six irrigation depending upon rainfall intensity. Give first Irrigation to the crop four to six week after sowing. And remaining irrigation at interval of two or three weeks. Never let water to stand in younger plants. Do not let the crop to suffer for want of water during flowering and fruiting to avoid the shedding of flowers and bolls. Give last irrigation to the crop when 33% of bolls are opened and after that there is no need of more water through irrigation.

Whenever salty water has to use for irrigation, the water should be get tested from authenticated laboratory and as per their recommendation, Gypsum or Pyrite may be added. In drought Condition, alternate furrow irrigation and use of micro irrigation system (wherever feasible) will be of immense help in saving irrigation water.

Fusarium wilt: Plants become stunted, yellow, followed by defoliation. Yellowing first occurs around leaf edges and advances inward. Infected plants fruit earlier and produce smaller bolls. It causes a blackening and discoloration just found in a ring just beneath the bark. It affect at all stage of crop.

Use resistant variety to control Fusarium wilt. Avoid continuous planting of cotton in same field. Follow proper crop rotation. Provide good drainage. Treat seed with Trichoderma viride formulation @ 4 gm/kg of seed. To control prepare the solution of Thiophanate Methyl @10 gm and Urea each of 50 gm/10 litre of water and apply near base of plants.

Alternaria Leaf spot: Small, pale to brown, round or irregular spots of circular to semicircular size with broad margins appear on leaves. Affected leaves become dry and get fall off. It may causes cankers on stem. Infection is spread to boll, then rotting of boll occurred afterwards they get fall off. Plants stressed by drought, nutrient deficiency and other pests are more susceptible to the disease.

To control this disease, spray Tebuconazole@1 ml/litre or Trifloxystrobin+Tebuconazole@ 0.6 g/litre, on 60th, 90th and 120 days after sowing. If infestation of disease is observed in field, spray with Copper Oxychloride or Captan@500 gm/200 Ltr of water per acre or 12% Carbendazim + 63% WP Mancozeb@25 gm/10 Ltr water.

Cercospora leaf spot: Circular red lesions on leaves which enlarge and turn white or gray in the center; lesions often have a pattern of concentric rings and possess a red margin. Dark gray spore masses form in the centers of the lesions making them appear dark gray.

If infestation of disease is observed in field, spray crop with Copper Oxychloride@3 gm/litre or Mancozeb@2.5 gm/ltr, 3 to 4 times in every 15 days interval.

Anthracnose: Small, reddish or light colored diseased spots are observed on plant leaves. Wounds are form on stem and thus plant get weaken. It attack boll at any stage and infection spread to lint and seed. The bolls affected by the disease have small, water-soaked, circular, slightly depressed, reddish brown spots.

Before sowing, treat seeds with Captan or Carbendazim @3-4 gm/kg of seeds. Avoid water logging in field. If infection observed, remove affected plant and destroyed them away from field and take Spraying with Carbendazim @3gm/lit of water.

Root rot: Sudden and complete wilting of plants. Leaves give yellow appearance. Affected plants can be easily pulled out. Except the tap root, few secondary roots are fresh which holds the plant and other roots are decayed.

Before sowing apply neem cake@60 kg/acre to the soil. Treat seeds with T. viride @ 4 gm/kg of seeds to reduce root rot incidence. If infection is observed do spot drenching of Carbendazim@3 gm/lit at the base of affected plants as well as surrounding healthy plants.

• Pest and their control:

American Bollworm: Eggs are laid singly on both upper and lower leaf surfaces. Newly hatched larva is yellowish white with brown black head. Later, body color changes to darker and after that changes to brownish. Due to infestation of this pest, circular holes are observed on boll. Presence of granular faecal pellets outside the bore hole. Single larva can damage 30-40 bolls. To check infestation use light traps, pheromone traps.

Avoid continuous cropping of cotton. Avoid mono-cropping. Growing of less preferred crops like green gram, black gram, soybean, castor, sorghum etc along with the cotton as inter-crop or border crop to reduce the pest infestation. Before sowing of cotton, remove crop residue of previous crops. Use optimum quantity of water and avoid excess use of nitrogen fertilizer. Use resistive varieties. Don’t use synthetic Pyrethroids to control American Bollworm. In case of severe infection Spray any one from Cypermethrin @ 1 ml/Ltr of water or Deltamethrin @1 ml/Ltr of water or Fenvalerate @1 ml/Ltr or Lambda cyhalothrin @1 ml/Ltr of water on affected crops, depending upon availability. For effective control of boll worms, never spray pesticides of single group more than once.

Jassids: Nymphs and adults of jassids suck sap from underside leaves and causing of curling. Leaves turn red or brown then dry up and shed. Apply Carbofuran 3 G@12kg or Phorate 10 G@5 kg/acre near to root zone in moist soil. When upper canopy show yellowing and curling of leaves on 50% of plants, take spraying of insecticides. Spray Imidachloprid 17.8 SL@40-50 ml or Thiomethoxam @40 gram or Acetamiprid @75 gm/acre/200 liters of water.

Spotted Bollworm: Larva is of dull green, black bristles color and having lines of black spots on body. Due to incidence of bollworm, drying and drooping of terminal shoots during pre–flowering stage is observed. It creates holes on boll and then causes rotting of boll.

If infestation is observed, to control spray with Profenophos 50 EC@500 ml/200 Ltr of water/acre.