What to Do About Cotton Seedling Death? Latest Control Measures Explained
The demand for cotton in our country is very high, and many daily necessities cannot be made without cotton. Cotton is also widely grown in our country, and if you want to obtain high yields of cotton, you have to start managing it from the seedling stage. Good seedling management can ensure at least half or more of the yield, but cotton seedlings commonly suffer from seedling death. This occurs in all regions of our country, thus affecting the final yield. So, how should we prevent seedling death? Let's take a look below.
1. Select Superior Varieties
Choosing excellent varieties is an effective way to prevent seedling death. When selecting varieties, we should choose ones that are disease-free, pest-free and highly disease-resistant. It also needs to be decided according to the planting plot. Some plots are places where seedling death occurs more often, and at such times we should choose varieties with relatively strong resistance to seedling death; in places with a lower incidence rate, we can choose varieties with relatively high yield and strong growth capacity to improve the balance of the plants. Therefore, choosing a good variety is the key to reducing seedling death and ensuring yield.
2. Reasonable Weeding
Many weeds will grow in cotton fields when they are planted. To prevent weeds from affecting the growth of cotton, many friends use large amounts of herbicides for weeding. In fact, herbicides are not only effective on weeds, but also inhibit the growth of seedlings and affect them. Therefore, we must control the use of herbicides, use manual weeding as much as possible, and when using herbicides, spray evenly and mix them with the soil. Do not use excessive amounts.
3. Sowing Preparation
When plowing the soil in spring, apply enough base fertilizer and do it together to improve soil fertility. Determine the amount of base fertilizer applied according to the planting area, and reasonably prepare the nutrient composition of the base fertilizer. 15 days before sowing, after plowing, water thoroughly. Carry out water conservation and soil moisture conservation work to provide good conditions for seed germination and seedling emergence. The sowing time cannot be too early; when the low temperature is 15°C, that is the best sowing time and temperature.
4. Field Management
Field management of seedlings is very important. If rainy weather is encountered before the seeds have germinated and emerged, loosen the soil in time to ensure the seedling emergence rate. After emergence, thin the seedlings in time; thinning can provide enough growing space for the seedlings and reduce the spread of pathogens. Cultivation should be timely and frequent so as to improve seedling growth, make the seedlings grow robustly, and enhance the seedlings' resistance to death.
5. Pest and Disease Control
The seedling stage of cotton is when pests and diseases occur the most, because cotton at the seedling stage has weak nutrient absorption capacity and poor resistance. When the temperature is slightly lower, it is very easy for it to be infected by pathogens, develop diseases such as anthracnose, and die. There are also various insect pests, such as tarnished plant bugs and cutworms, which cause great harm to the growth of seedlings, so the control of various pests and diseases must be done well.
The above are the specific measures for preventing and controlling cotton seedling death. The editor has only briefly introduced them; the specifics still need to be discovered by everyone in management. Among them, pests and diseases are what everyone should pay special attention to, because the cotton seedling stage is the most fragile time and also the most important time for cotton growth. A moment of carelessness can lead to large-scale seedling death or even total crop failure.