Cotton is a fibre crop and it is also known as the King of fibre crops. Another name of this crop is white gold. It is traded globally and has been a key player in the textile industry for centuries. If you are a farmer, looking for a profitable cultivation of cotton, a well-planned approach is needed. This guide will help you know different stages of cotton farming, which include preparation, sowing and harvesting.
1. Site Determination and Soil Planning
Choosing the right location is significant for effective cotton farming. Hence, you should choose land with well-drained soil. Additionally, the soil should be slightly acidic to neutral pH. You can conduct soil testing to find an ideal land by checking its supplement levels. On the other hand, it will ensure the site gets appropriate sunlight.
After choosing the land, the following stage is soil preparation. You can set up the soil involving various processes for developing a decent cotton yield. For example, ploughing, levelling, etc. Furthermore, a Mahindra 575 tract can assist you in performing every step of soil preparation. It is a reliable tractor and packs the latest features and technologies to reduce your efforts in cotton farming.
2. Seed Selection
In cotton cultivation, the determination of the right seed variety is significant for the development of a better cotton crop. Other than this, factors like the climate, rainfall, and pest control play an important role in the development of better cotton yield. You can pick the right cotton seed variety as per your region by taking assistance from local agricultural experts.
3. Planting
You should remember a couple of things while planting chosen cotton seed. First and foremost, the planting process should be performed during the spring season when soil temperature stays similar or above 60°F (15°C). Also, the seed should be planted at the prescribed depth of around 1 to 1.5 inches. Moreover, there should be proper distance between each plant row. This will ensure a proper air flow and optimal daylight to the sowed seeds. Besides, you can involve a Massey 9500 tractor and other cultivating equipment for minimizing your efforts in cotton seed planting.
4. Crop Care and Maintenance
When the cotton plants begin to emerge from the soil, you need to give them proper attention. Along with this, watering the cotton plants consistently will satisfy their moisture needs. Simultaneously, regular checking of your yield will protect it from pests, diseases, and weeds. Moreover, you can carry out integrated pest management practices to lessen the utilization of synthetic fertilizers.
5. Fertilization
Soil fertilization is a necessary step for the cultivation of cotton and nitrogen is the major soil nutrient for this crop. Consequently, you need to give it separately from other fertilizers. This way providing the right amount of fertilizers will help grow healthy cotton plants for enhanced cotton yield.
6. Pruning and Thinning
Pruning is a farming practice that helps remove grown vegetative from your cotton crops and encourages cotton fruition. On the other hand, with thinning, you can provide proper spacing between the plants for promoting uniform boll development. Using these techniques, you can improve airflow and reduce the risk of disease in your cotton crop.
7. Harvest preparation
Farmers should be prepared for the harvesting of crops. However, it is important to know the accurate harvest time. Then how will you know this is the time? Cotton harvesting is essentially done in the fall season when the balls are ripened and fluffy cotton fibres start to emerge. But, regular monitoring will assist you with knowing that the crop is matured. Additionally, you can’t disregard weather conditions to know the right harvest time.
8. Harvesting
For harvesting your prepared cotton crop, you can utilize mechanical pickers or strippers. Accordingly, these devices will decrease your efforts and increase harvesting efficiency. Furthermore, it might be ideal if you harvest the crops when the bolls are open yet weather conditions should be favorable since it can influence the quality of cotton fiber.
9. Ginning
Utilizing the ginning system, farmers can easily separate fibres from seeds. However, for ginning, they can utilize conventional saw gins or present day roller gins. When the ginning is completed, the cotton build up is squeezed into bundles for capacity and transportation.
10. Post-Harvest and Crop Rotation
After cotton harvesting, farmers should follow post-harvest processes, including cleaning and maintaining equipment. In addition, they should set up their field for the next yield. Simultaneously, the crop rotation will assist with breaking the pest and disease cycles into your farm and keep up your soil richness.
Conclusion
If you do cotton cultivation with appropriate preparation and following the recommended procedures, it can be profitable cultivation for you. Therefore, you should follow each step of cotton farming, from site determination to harvest, to get an effective cotton crop. Thus, utilizing the steps given in this guide, you can deal with the difficulties of cotton cultivation. And, you can participate in the development of this globally significant crop.
