Cotton planting area accounts for 80% of the national total, how can high yields be achieved?

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

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

There was once a time when, every cotton harvest season, the cotton fields in the Changji, Shihezi and Kuitun areas of northern ** were full of armies of cotton pickers. In recent years, machine-picked cotton planting has been rapidly promoted in northern **. Reporters 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 cotton farmer Cheng Zhengjiang in Sanchakou Village, Beiwucha Town, Manas County, 6 cotton harvesters shuttled back and forth, stepping up operations. 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 to be around 400 kg, and the good ones 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. To promote machine-picked cotton on a large scale, in recent years Manas County has launched structural reform on the agricultural supply side, adjusted planting varieties, reduced the original more than 20 varieties to 3 planted varieties, planted efficient and high-quality machine-picked cotton, guided cotton growers to establish cooperatives, unified procurement, 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 wages 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. In 2016 I switched entirely to machine-picked cotton. Now cotton planting is almost fully mechanized. Our family planted 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, scientific planting and scientific management. “It is necessary to integrate and apply precision sowing technology, chemical topping technology and mechanical harvesting technology for cotton into cotton production, and achieve full mechanization.” said Bao Yuqin, chief agricultural adviser of Manas County.

Machine-picked cotton planting area in northern ** has already accounted for more than 80%

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

Shawan County planted 1.8 million mu of cotton in 2018. At present the cotton is maturing one after another 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 in the cotton field. According to Mu Jianzhong, director of the Shawan County Hongji Agricultural Machinery Cooperative, since cotton picking began on September 22, 4 John Deere CP690 self-propelled round module cotton pickers have been deployed 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 in the “belly”, and a large round cylindrical cotton module was ejected 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 cotton from being contaminated by impurities during transfer, and greatly improves cotton quality.

Reporters 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 ** has seventy or eighty round module cotton pickers, mainly purchased by Shaya County, Yuli County and Regiment 2 of Division 1 of the Corps, while northern ** has nearly 200, mainly distributed for operations in the areas of Regiment 125, Regiment 121, Regiment 127, Wusu, Kuitun and Shihezi. One round module cotton picker operating continuously for a day and a night can harvest 680 mu of cotton, or a conservative 500 mu. One machine working for one day is equivalent to 2,000 laborers working for 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 ** first promoted machine-picked cotton in the Corps. As early as the late 1990s, machine-picked cotton had already appeared in Division 1 of the Corps, and afterward machine-picked cotton began to be promoted in Division 8 of the Corps. But at that time manual cotton picking was cheap, so machine-picked cotton was not promoted very quickly.

By 2012, machine-picked cotton had been rapidly promoted in northern **. “1.5 yuan/kg for cotton is a benefit balance point. Once manual cotton picking exceeds this price, it no longer has much advantage. Now the price for picking cotton has risen to 2.5 yuan/kg, and the income from growing machine-picked cotton has an absolute advantage.” Fu Quanwei said.

According to estimates, in northern **, after machine-picked cotton is sold, the income per kg is about 9 jiao higher than for manually picked cotton, and each mu brings about 360 yuan more income; in southern **, each mu brings about 450 yuan more income.

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