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Key Technical Points and Benefit Analysis of Cotton Mulch Cultivation

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In recent years, with the popularization and promotion of transgenic insect-resistant cotton and insect-resistant hybrid cotton, and the widespread application of plastic film mulch cultivation technology, cotton develops earlier and each plant sets more bolls earlier. Cotton in continuous cropping fields is highly prone to premature senescence. Mulching with straw in cotton fields already covered with plastic film can both promote early seedling development and prevent premature senescence of cotton, so cotton mulch cultivation technology is attracting more and more attention from cotton farmers. At present, cotton regions in the Yangtze River and Yellow River basins often use 2-row root-zone mulching, while ** cotton regions mostly use 4-row, 6-row and 8-row root-zone mulching. Plastic film mulching methods fall into two types: sowing cotton first and then covering with plastic film, and covering with plastic film first and then punching holes for sowing cotton, which should be selected according to local conditions. For cotton sown first and then covered with film, the moisture-conserving and warming effects are good; after the cotton emerges, when the cotyledons unfold and turn green, punch holes promptly to release the seedlings, keeping two plants per hole, and the seedling-release holes should be small; the seedling-release work should be done before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m. After releasing the cotton seedlings, promptly seal the seedling-release holes tightly with moist good soil. With this method, attention should be paid to preventing high-temperature weather after sowing from scalding the seedlings under the film. For covering with film first and then punching holes for sowing, the film can be applied promptly after spring rain to conserve moisture, and holes are punched for dibbling according to plant spacing; after emergence, thin the seedlings immediately, keeping two strong seedlings per hole. With this method, if rain occurs after sowing, it easily causes rainwater to pour into the sowing holes, leading to serious seedling diseases; replant missing spots with reserve seedlings grown in nutritional pots.

In recent years, with the popularization and promotion of transgenic insect-resistant cotton and insect-resistant hybrid cotton, and the widespread application of plastic film mulch cultivation technology, cotton develops earlier and each plant sets more bolls earlier. Cotton in continuous cropping fields is highly prone to premature senescence. Mulching with straw in cotton fields already covered with plastic film can both promote early seedling development and prevent premature senescence of cotton, so cotton mulch cultivation technology is attracting more and more attention from cotton farmers.

At present, cotton regions in the Yangtze River and Yellow River basins often use 2-row root-zone mulching, while ** cotton regions mostly use 4-row, 6-row and 8-row root-zone mulching. Plastic film mulching methods fall into two types: sowing cotton first and then covering with plastic film, and covering with plastic film first and then punching holes for sowing cotton, which should be selected according to local conditions. For cotton sown first and then covered with film, the moisture-conserving and warming effects are good; after the cotton emerges, when the cotyledons unfold and turn green, punch holes promptly to release the seedlings, keeping two plants per hole, and the seedling-release holes should be small; the seedling-release work should be done before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m. After releasing the cotton seedlings, promptly seal the seedling-release holes tightly with moist good soil. With this method, attention should be paid to preventing high-temperature weather after sowing from scalding the seedlings under the film. For covering with film first and then punching holes for sowing, the film can be applied promptly after spring rain to conserve moisture, and holes are punched for dibbling according to plant spacing; after emergence, thin the seedlings immediately, keeping two strong seedlings per hole. With this method, if rain occurs after sowing, it easily causes rainwater to pour into the sowing holes, leading to serious seedling diseases; replant missing spots with reserve seedlings grown in nutritional pots.

After mid-June, the plastic film should be removed promptly, and residual film should be picked up clean and taken out of the field. After removing the film, ditches should be opened promptly for hilling and fertilizing, and then straw should be mulched.

Before mulching, crop straw such as @#@245@#@ and corn should be crushed into pieces about 10 cm long, and after the film is removed, spread evenly among the cotton plants in one application, then sprinkle a little crushed soil over the straw to prevent it from being blown away by wind; the mulching amount is about 500 kg per mu. When mulching with straw, apply an appropriate amount of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer to adjust the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, which is beneficial to straw decomposition and phosphorus release. Straw mulching makes use of straw resources, avoids environmental pollution caused by burning straw, reduces ineffective soil moisture evaporation, improves the soil's fertilizer supply capacity, and increases the leaf area index, thereby enhancing the photosynthetic capacity of the cotton leaves in the population.

Mulching with straw after film removal in plastic-film-mulched cotton fields not only solves the problems of low temperature and drought during the cotton seedling stage and achieves early seedling development, but the mulch layer during the flowering and boll stage can also regulate soil temperature, reduce soil bulk density, and the gradually decomposing straw continuously releases inorganic nutrients, thereby maintaining root activity, preventing premature senescence of cotton, and increasing yield. According to surveys, cotton mulched with straw after film removal increased seed cotton by 50 kg per mu compared with open-field direct sowing; calculating at a selling price of 4.6 yuan per 500 g of seed cotton and a plastic film cost of 36 yuan per mu, cotton mulched with straw after film removal increased net income by 78 yuan per mu compared with open-field direct sowing. Cotton with plastic film mulching alone increased seed cotton by 28 kg per mu compared with open-field direct sowing, with a net income increase of 28.4 yuan per mu.

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