Detailed Explanation of Pre-Sowing Preparation and Sowing Technical Points for Cotton

Sowing is the foundational step for achieving high-quality, high-efficiency cotton. To guide the vast number of cotton farmers in scientific cotton cultivation, the following sowing techniques are proposed.

1. Select excellent cotton varieties

Focus on selecting early-maturing varieties. Such as the nationally approved "Ji 668" and 99B and other excellent varieties. To ensure full stands, a germination test must be done before sowing to determine the appropriate sowing rate. The sowing rate for machine sowing is about 2 kg/mu; the sowing rate for manual dibbling is about 1.5 kg/mu.

2. Adopt plastic film mulching technology

Plastic film has the effects of increasing temperature, preserving soil moisture, and promoting early seedling development. The suitable sowing period for film-mulched cotton is April 15-25; open-field cotton is generally sown after April 25 and finished around May 1.

3. Reasonable close planting

The principles to grasp are: appropriately sparse planting on high-water-and-fertilizer plots, and appropriately dense planting on dry and thin land. On medium-fertility plots, about 3,500 plants per mu can be retained, and on dry and thin land about 4,000 plants. A wide-and-narrow row planting pattern should be adopted, with wide rows 80 cm and narrow rows 50 cm.

4. Apply sufficient basal fertilizer and heavily apply flowering and boll fertilizer

To achieve a seed cotton yield of 250-300 kg per mu, on medium-fertility plots apply 10-20 kg of urea, 25 kg of diammonium phosphate, and 10-20 kg of potassium sulfate per mu as basal fertilizer; then topdress 15 kg of urea at the flowering and boll stage. Insect-resistant cotton is relatively sensitive to organic fertilizer and potassium fertilizer, so organic fertilizer and potassium fertilizer should be increased. If potassium fertilizer is insufficient, cotton red leaf stem blight and late-stage premature senescence will occur, causing yield reduction.

5. Simplified cultivation technology for the nationally approved "Ji 668" cotton variety

For cotton fields with better water and fertilizer conditions and fertile soil, simplified planting methods are suitable, which can save labor and time. Usually two planting methods are used: wide-and-narrow rows and equal row spacing. For wide-and-narrow rows, the wide row width is generally 1 m, the narrow row width is 0.45-0.5 m, and the plant spacing is 1.2-1.5 chi; for equal row spacing planting, the row width is generally 1-1.2 m, and the plant spacing is 1 chi. The per-mu density should be kept at 1,500-1,800 plants. If the per-mu density is about 1,500 plants, retain all leaf branches of the cotton plants; if the per-mu density is about 1,800 plants, retain 3 leaf branches. From July 10-15, timely topping should be done, and topping should be carried out when 10 fruiting branches are reached. Timely chemical regulation should be carried out according to the growth of the cotton field.