Cotton Cultivation Techniques: How to Fertilize Cotton During the Flowering and Boll Stage?
How to Fertilize Cotton During the Flowering and Boll Stage? Please Advise. The flowering and boll stage is the key period when cotton gradually shifts from vegetative growth to reproductive growth, and it is also the period when cotton needs the most fertilizer. For cotton in full bloom, since vegetative growth is still running parallel with reproductive growth, applying too much nitrogen fertilizer at this time will cause excessive and then rampant growth...
How to Fertilize Cotton During the Flowering and Boll Stage? Please Advise
The flowering and boll stage is the key period when cotton gradually shifts from vegetative growth to reproductive growth, and it is also the period when cotton needs the most fertilizer.
For cotton in full bloom, since vegetative growth is still running parallel with reproductive growth, applying too much nitrogen fertilizer at this time will cause excessive and then rampant growth, which not only worsens square and boll shedding but also triggers premature senescence. Therefore, for cotton in full bloom, compound fertilizer should be the main application, with 15~20 kg of high-content compound fertilizer per mu, or a small amount of urea applied together with phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. Especially in cotton fields planted with hybrid insect-resistant cotton, potassium fertilizer should be increased, with no less than 15 kg of potassium fertilizer per mu. Fertilizer at the flowering stage should be applied deeply, and soil should be hilled up into ridges.
For cotton that has already set bolls, boll fertilizer should be applied. In places with a large planting area of hybrid insect-resistant cotton, boll fertilizer should be applied twice. When a single cotton plant has an average of 2~3 mature bolls, about 15 kg of urea should be applied per mu. When a single cotton plant has an average of about 10 mature bolls, about 15 kg of urea should be applied again. When cotton has set many bolls, there is no need to worry about rampant growth from applying urea, because after cotton sets bolls, the direction of nutrient transport has shifted from branches and leaves to the cotton bolls. Timely supply of sufficient nutrients can not only increase boll weight and seed index weight but also improve quality. However, boll fertilizer must not be applied too late; applying it too late will only cause cotton to stay green and mature late.
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