Latest Cotton Pruning Techniques, Methods and Tutorial Highlights
Cotton is a very important cash crop in China, and its planting area in China is very large. Moreover, as market demand increases, its planting area continues to expand. Cotton is also a crop with strong growth capacity and produces a great many branches. Therefore, we must do a good job of pruning when planting in order to ensure normal growth of the cotton. So today, the editor brings you the key points of cotton pruning techniques. Let's take a look!
1. Pruning at the bud stage
After cotton growth enters the bud stage, its main growth direction is primarily vegetative, and the pruning work at this time mainly consists of removing branches and leaves. Generally, it should begin after the first fruiting branch appears. Pruning at the bud stage makes it possible to distinguish the type of branches, which makes it easier to grasp the timing of pruning, prevent it from being too late, avoid excessive loss of nutrients, and promote ventilation and air permeability. At this time, remove old, yellow, diseased and pest-damaged leaves, then remove about 9 young buds from the 3 branches at the base of the cotton plant. Concentrate the nutrients in the flower buds to promote early formation of cotton bolls and prevent flower and fruit drop.
2. Pruning at the flower and boll stage
Pruning at the flower and boll stage mainly promotes the plant's reproductive growth and improves the fruiting rate and cotton boll quality. First, topping should be carried out, usually around July each year, and when the fruiting branches have grown to about 11 nodes, that is the best time for topping. It is best to remove the top all at once; topping should not be done on cloudy and rainy days, otherwise it will greatly hinder the healing of the plant's wounds. After topping, appropriately spray a growth-promoting agent to promote growth, and then also pay attention to doing a good job of removing the side growing points. Finally, remove buds and prune branches, remove some useless cotton bolls, and if there are too many buds, remove them in time as well, to enhance the photosynthesis of the cotton.
3. Pruning at the boll-opening stage
Under normal conditions, after cotton enters the boll-opening stage, pruning is no longer necessary. However, because field fertility is relatively high, for some plants with stronger growth, appropriately remove some branches and leaves at the base of the cotton plant's stem to improve field permeability. It can also reduce shading and improve the conversion rate of fertilizer. For some plots with excessive growth and poor field permeability, we should also appropriately push the plants together, to prevent the field from being too closed, reduce field humidity, and prevent excessive humidity from causing boll rot.
4. Chemical pruning
Chemical pruning is mainly the pruning method used for cotton plants with excessive growth and for plots that stay green and mature late. Through chemical pruning, the growth mode of the cotton plant is shifted to reproductive growth, preventing the cotton plant from growing too vigorously, and doing a good job of pruning and chemical regulation. What should be noted is that if the cotton field has insufficient fertility, lacks nutrients, and the plants grow too weakly, then it is not suitable to use chemical pruning techniques. The pruning time should be carried out only at the full flowering stage, control the dosage well, and reasonably adjust the pruning time according to the plant's growth condition.
The above is a brief introduction to the key points of cotton pruning techniques. The pruning work for cotton is very important and directly affects yield and planting benefits, so everyone must pay close attention to it. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. Thank you for reading and supporting us.