What causes uneven seedling sizes in cotton?
Cotton is a plant in the Malvaceae family, and it is grown on a very large area in China, which is also one of the countries with the highest cotton yields. As the main raw material for most cotton products, cotton is a very important crop. So more and more people are growing cotton, but many people find that cotton often shows uneven seedling sizes when growing it. So what causes uneven seedling sizes in cotton? Let's take a look below!
1. Temperature and humidity causes
Professional surveys have found that when growing cotton, the cotton in the middle of the plastic mulch grows far better than the cotton on both sides. This is because the temperature in the middle of the plastic mulch is about three degrees higher than on both sides. So temperature is the main factor causing uneven seedling sizes in cotton. Then there is humidity: if watering is improper, especially if there is a lot of rainy weather, the humidity in the cotton field will be uneven, which easily forms a flowering soil moisture condition, and together with uneven temperature, this naturally causes uneven seedling sizes in cotton. Therefore we must pay attention to controlling temperature and humidity well, especially after sowing, maintaining consistent soil moisture to improve the uniformity of cotton seedlings.
2. Improper mulching
When growing cotton, we need to apply plastic mulch appropriately, and mulching after planting is a key measure to ensure normal cotton growth and yield. After cotton is sown, if the plastic mulch is not covered firmly, causing air leaks, and then windy or strongly windy conditions occur, the plastic mulch cannot provide a balanced heat-preservation effect for cotton seeds and seedlings. Where the plastic mulch is covered properly, because of heat and moisture retention, seedling emergence is also relatively fast. On the contrary, if mulching is improper, it will have a great impact on the growth of cotton seedlings, thus causing uneven seedling sizes, so everyone must pay close attention.
3. Too much residual film
Too much residual film in the cotton field is also a main cause of uneven seedling sizes in cotton. When growing cotton, if plastic mulch planting is carried out for many consecutive years, then the plastic film in the cotton field's plow layer will accumulate too much, which will greatly hinder the germination and emergence of cotton seeds. According to survey findings, residual film in the plow layer affects at least 5% of the emergence rate of cotton seeds. If seeds are sown on residual film or covered by residual film, because soil permeability is too poor, this causes slow emergence, no emergence, or even dead seedlings.
4. Seed and sowing causes
Before sowing, we must strictly select cotton seeds. If seed quality is too poor or the seeds have not been treated by sun-drying and disinfection, it will affect the overall quality of the seeds. Unhealthy, shriveled seeds emerge slowly, and their seedling growth ability is also very poor, so they will naturally contrast with healthy seeds. Moreover, when sowing, if the land preparation work is not done well, resulting in inconsistent sowing depth, then the emergence time of cotton seeds will naturally differ. In addition, scattered seeds, soil covering thickness, and so on can all easily cause uneven seedling sizes in cotton.
The above is a brief introduction to what causes uneven seedling sizes in cotton. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and I hope it can help everyone!