Agronomic practices for successful cotton production

摘要

Cotton is an important kharif cash crop of Southwestern districts in Punjab. Pumping out brackish underground water for paddy cultivation is deteriorating the soil as well as increasing water problems of the cotton growing areas by accumulation of harmful salts on the soil surface besides hindering availability of essential nutrients for the crop. Therefore, farmers must realize that growing paddy or basmati in soils of South-Western districts shall be harmful to their soils and cultivation of crop like cotton, which requires much less water, is the sole solution for sustainability of this area. By replacing rice, cotton can play a major role in crop diversification. Ignorance about the latest high yielding cultivars, delayed sowing, indiscriminateuse of fertilizers and poor weed management are the prime factors responsible for the low productivity at farmers' fields. For better cotton productivity, farmers should adopt following agronomic practices.