How to Achieve Full Seedling Emergence in a Single Sowing of Cotton? Key Technical Points Explained

1. Variety selection: Choose hybrid varieties with high yield, good quality, great potential and strong stress resistance, such as Hanza 429 and Hanza 301; or use conventional varieties such as Ji 228 and Han 7860.

2. Seed treatment: This includes sunning the seeds before sowing and germination testing. Sun the seeds for 3-5 days before sowing to promote after-ripening, so as to improve the seed germination rate and germination vigor. Do not sun the seeds on concrete or asphalt surfaces. Randomly take 100 or 200 seeds and carry out a germination rate test to determine the sowing rate.

3. Fine land preparation and sowing with sufficient soil moisture: Soil moisture directly affects cotton emergence. If the soil moisture is insufficient, irrigate the land to build up moisture half a month before cotton sowing. Land preparation requires deep ploughing of 25-30 cm, a level surface, a loose top layer and firm subsoil, and no visible or hidden clods.

4. Timely sowing: When the soil temperature at 5 cm stably passes 14°C and rises to 16°C in the short term, sow at the end of a cold spell and the beginning of a warm one. The sowing period is generally around April 20-25.

5. Sowing rate: For hybrid cotton, use 1 kg of seed per mu; for conventional cotton, use 2 kg of seed per mu.

6. Sowing depth: The suitable sowing depth is 3-4 cm.

7. Seedling inspection and replanting: After emergence, inspect and replant seedlings promptly. For plots with many missing plants, re-sow after pre-germination; for plots with few missing plants, transplant sprouted seedlings.