Xinjiang accounts for 80% of the country's cotton planting area, so how does it achieve high yields?

**Xinjiang's total cotton output has ranked first in the country for more than 20 consecutive years. A reporter learned from the ** Academy of Agricultural Sciences that **'s cotton planting area reached more than 37 million mu in 2018, accounting for 80% of the country's cotton planting area. In northern Xinjiang, the average cotton yield is about 400 kg per mu, while in southern Xinjiang the average cotton yield is about 500 kg per mu, and machine-picked cotton accounts for more than 80% in northern Xinjiang.

In Manas County, mechanical harvesting of 830,000 mu of cotton reaches 96%

There was a time when, every cotton harvest season, the cotton fields around Changji, Shihezi and Kuitun in northern Xinjiang were full of armies of cotton pickers. In recent years, machine-picked cotton planting has been rapidly promoted in northern Xinjiang. A reporter learned from the Manas County Agriculture Bureau that this year the county planted 830,000 mu of high-quality cotton, and mechanical harvesting will reach 96%.

In the cotton field of Cheng Zhengjiang, a cotton farmer in Sanchakou Village, Beiwucha Town, Manas County, 6 cotton pickers shuttled back and forth, hurrying through the work. Cheng Zhengjiang planted more than 300 mu of cotton in 2018. Thanks to scientific planting, the cotton grew better in 2018 than in previous years. “The yield per mu is estimated at around 400 kg, and the good fields can reach 500 kg. In 2018 we all adopted machine picking here. Compared with manual picking, machine picking saves about 650 yuan per mu.”

It is reported that Beiwucha Town in Manas County has fully achieved machine-picked cotton. In order to promote machine-picked cotton on a large scale, in recent years Manas County has launched a structural reform of the agricultural supply side, adjusted the planted varieties, reduced the original more than 20 varieties to 3 planted varieties, planted efficient and high-quality machine-picked cotton, guided cotton farmers to establish cooperatives, made unified purchases and unified harvesting, and saved planting costs.

Li Xueming, a cotton grower in Beiwucha Town, Manas County, has planted cotton for 17 years. “In the past, when the cotton-picking season came, in order to recruit cotton pickers, we would squat all day at train stations and long-distance bus stations, holding signs and asking around.”

In the past, cotton pickers were hard to recruit and their pay rose year after year. Li Xueming still remembers that in 2001 the price for picking cotton was only 5 jiao per kg, and by 2015 it had risen to as high as 2.2 yuan per kg. “If it kept rising like that, we really could not bear it, so in 2016 I switched entirely to machine-picked cotton. Now cotton planting is mechanized almost throughout the whole process. Our family plants 200 mu of cotton, and managing it is easy.” Li Xueming said.

It is reported that in recent years Manas County has been guiding cotton farmers onto the path of intensive planting, with scientific planting and scientific management. “We need to integrate and apply precision sowing technology, chemical topping technology and mechanical harvesting technology in cotton production to achieve full-process mechanization.” said Bao Yuqin, chief agricultural adviser of Manas County.

Machine-picked cotton planting area in northern Xinjiang has reached more than 80%

A reporter learned from the ** Academy of Agricultural Sciences that in recent years machine-picked cotton has been rapidly promoted in northern Xinjiang, the machine-picked cotton planting area has reached more than 80%, and in some counties and cities it has exceeded 90%.

Shawan County planted 1.8 million mu of cotton in 2018. The cotton is now maturing successively and mechanical harvesting has begun. In a cotton field in Songshenggong Village, Jingou Town, Shawan County, a John Deere CP690 self-propelled round module cotton picker of the Shawan County Agricultural Machinery Cooperative shuttled back and forth through the cotton field. According to Mu Jianzhong, director of the Hongji Agricultural Machinery Cooperative in Shawan County, since cotton picking began on September 22, 4 John Deere CP690 self-propelled round module cotton pickers have been dispatched to serve the area around Shawan County, with a daily workload of more than 500 mu.

As soon as the round module cotton picker drove into the cotton field, cotton bolls were quickly grabbed into the machine's “belly”, then compressed inside the “belly”, and a large cylindrical cotton module was discharged from the rear of the machine. Compared with the more traditional basket-type cotton picker, the round module cotton picker achieves full mechanization of cotton harvesting and baling, can effectively prevent the cotton from being contaminated by impurities during transfer, and greatly improves cotton quality.

A reporter learned from ** Tianshan Nongxin Agricultural Machinery Co., Ltd. that ** began selling round module cotton pickers in 2012. The first generation 7760 was priced at 4.6 million yuan, and by 2015 the second generation CP690 sold for 5.3 million yuan. “Now southern Xinjiang has 70 to 80 round module cotton pickers, mainly purchased by Shaya County, Yuli County and Regiment 2 of the First Division of the Corps, while northern Xinjiang has nearly 200, mainly operating in the areas of Regiment 125, Regiment 121, Regiment 127, Wusu, Kuitun and Shihezi of the Corps. One round module cotton picker working continuously for a day and a night can harvest 680 mu of cotton, or 500 mu conservatively. One machine working one day is equivalent to 2,000 laborers working one day.” said Fu Quanwei, sales department manager of ** Tianshan Nongxin Agricultural Machinery Co., Ltd.

Comparing planting benefits: growing machine-picked cotton brings higher income

It is reported that ** was the earliest to promote machine-picked cotton in the Corps. As early as the late 1990s, machine-picked cotton had already appeared in the First Division of the Corps, and afterward machine-picked cotton began to be promoted in the Eighth Division of the Corps. But at that time manual cotton picking was cheap, so the promotion of machine-picked cotton was not fast.

By 2012, machine-picked cotton had been rapidly promoted in northern Xinjiang. “Cotton at 1.5 yuan/kg is a break-even point of interest. Above this price, manual cotton picking no longer has much advantage. Now the price for picking cotton has risen to 2.5 yuan/kg, and growing machine-picked cotton has an absolute advantage in returns.” Fu Quanwei said.

According to estimates, in northern Xinjiang, after mechanized cotton picking the income per kg sold is about 9 jiao higher than with manual cotton picking, and each mu brings about 360 yuan more income; in southern Xinjiang, each mu brings about 450 yuan more income.

It is reported that in 2018 ** began picking cotton in early September, southern Xinjiang picked cotton on a large scale in mid-September, and northern Xinjiang picked cotton on a large scale in late September. ** The cotton picking period can last about 50 days, and northern Xinjiang will finish harvesting at the latest by late October. At present, this is the busiest time for cotton harvesting.