How much is a bunch of ornamental cotton, and what are its cultivation prospects?

Cotton is a relatively common crop in northern China, especially in the arid regions of northwest China, where rainfall is low and sunlight is intense, making it very suitable for cotton growth. But have you ever seen ornamental cotton? Today, the editor will introduce to you the market price of ornamental cotton per bunch? And what are its cultivation prospects?

I. How much is a bunch of ornamental cotton on the market? What are its cultivation prospects?

It is understood that the price of ornamental cotton is about 80 yuan per plant, and each cotton boll costs about 8-10 yuan. Prices vary by region, and this price is for reference only.

II. What are the cultivation prospects of ornamental cotton?

Recently, the author visited the home of Master Cheng, who planted two mu of cotton fields in Xinzhou, Hubei. He told the author that the cotton planted last year sold for a maximum of 3 yuan per jin, with a yield of 350 jin per mu, bringing in an income of 1050 yuan, all sold to cotton textile institutions. "If ornamental cotton can really be grown and the benefits are good, I will definitely try planting it," Master Cheng said.

A person in charge from the Agricultural Technology Extension Station of the Hubei Provincial Department of Agriculture introduced that Hubei's climate and soil are very suitable for growing cotton, and the cotton growth period can reach more than 120 days, with the longest reaching 200 days. This also means that ornamental cotton can be produced from spring to autumn.

"There is absolutely no problem trial-planting such a variety in Hubei. The only thing that needs to be clarified is whether the flower market has enough consumption power?" said Yi Guoxiang, a cotton expert at the Hubei Provincial Department of Agriculture. Hubei is a major cotton-producing province. Previously, due to poor economic benefits, starting from 2008, Hubei's cotton planting area and output have been declining all the way.

"In our newly developed cotton, the flowers will turn upward, the flower shape opens more brilliantly, the cotton fibers are tighter and less likely to fall off, and the height is maintained at 80 cm to 120 cm, and it can be pruned," said Yi Guoxiang. The market determines consumption, and this is the key to whether Hubei's cotton industry can embark on the path of "ornamental cotton."

Although cotton is named "flower," it has always been sold only as "cotton." But when cotton appears in flower shops, everyone will surely find it novel. It is said that these cottons are ornamental cottons, mostly from overseas. A single-stem bouquet can sell for up to 100 yuan, and multi-stem arrangements sell for several hundred yuan. Buyers are mostly young women.

The author saw in some physical flower shops in Hubei that quite a few dried-branch ornamental cottons were being sold. At the prominent positions on both sides of the entrance of an exquisite flower shop, there were respectively displayed cotton arranged with other flowers and plants and individual native cotton plants. The former was 26 yuan per bunch, and the latter was 80 yuan per plant, which works out to 8 yuan per cotton boll. Flower shop staff said that the cotton in the shop was imported from the Americas and began to be sold at the end of last year, and it is quite popular among young girls. The arranged cotton can sell 6 bunches per day, and the plant-type cotton can also sell about 3 to 5 plants. In some flower wholesale markets, multiple shops sell cotton, but all by plant, with a minimum of 3 plants, and a wholesale price of 40 yuan to 60 yuan per plant.

Buyers said, "The form of the cotton fibers is very good, it feels furry, and there is a heart-shaped part in the middle that is very cute." Yi Guoxiang went to the flower market to identify it.

After carefully observing the ornamental cotton, Yi Guoxiang said that the industry has not yet seen ornamental cotton imported from abroad. Cotton that looks the same in appearance was successfully trial-planted in China in 2010. It belongs to early-maturing cotton, mainly produced in Northeast and North China, and the flowering season is only in spring.

Yi Guoxiang said that judging from the height, thickness and quality of the stems, not only can early-maturing cotton reach such an ornamental level, but as long as the seedlings are carefully selected and bred, ornamental cotton can absolutely be grown in existing cotton fields.

According to Yi Guoxiang's judgment, how much can early-maturing cotton be worth? Yi Guoxiang did a calculation: the purchase price of early-maturing cotton is about 2.8 yuan/jin, with a yield of about 550 jin per mu, roughly 6000 plants, and each cotton plant has 8 to 10 bolls. Calculated this way, the purchase price per cotton plant is about 0.26 yuan. Even at the lowest wholesale market price for ornamental cotton, the price is more than 150 times that of early-maturing cotton.