What preparatory work is needed before planting cotton
Cotton is grown on a very large area in our country. It is also a very important textile food crop and an indispensable raw material for making cotton quilts, cotton-padded clothes and other warm items. Therefore, more and more people are growing it now, but when planting cotton, we need to pay attention to doing a good job in all aspects of preparatory work. So what should be prepared before planting cotton? Below, the editor will give you a brief introduction. Let's take a look together!
1. Deep plowing and land preparation
The suitable season for planting cotton is winter and spring, so winter and spring are also the best seasons for deep plowing and land preparation. Under normal circumstances, winter plowing is more effective than spring plowing. This is because the depth of winter plowing is slightly deeper, usually around 25cm. For spring plowing, the depth is generally only about 15cm. However, whether it is winter plowing or spring plowing, after deep plowing we must do a good job of fine land preparation. Make the soil loose on top and firm below, and ensure the soil has good water retention and moisture conservation.
2. Apply sufficient base fertilizer
After doing a good job of deep plowing and land preparation, we need to apply sufficient base fertilizer to the soil. This improves soil fertility and adjusts soil structure. Moreover, applying sufficient base fertilizer and improving fertility is also the key to ensuring high cotton yields. When applying base fertilizer, we should control the application amount according to the cotton variety planted, the yield and the original quality of the soil. Under normal circumstances, for a plot with a yield of about 125kg per mu, about 5000kg of organic fertilizer should be applied, together with an appropriate amount of cake fertilizer, superphosphate and other substances, to ensure the soil has sufficient nutrients.
3. Water sufficiently at the bottom
In addition to applying sufficient base fertilizer, we also need to water sufficiently at the bottom according to climate changes in the planting area. And we need to create good soil moisture in the cotton field, which is also the main measure to ensure that cotton can be sown on time and produce full and strong seedlings. When irrigating at the bottom, the time should mainly be winter irrigation in winter. If spring irrigation is needed, then it should be carried out after the soil thaws in spring each year. At the latest, the irrigation work should be completed two weeks before sowing, which can promote the rise of low temperatures and increase the rate of full and strong seedlings.
4. Plastic film and chemicals
After sowing, we also need to cover the plastic film properly according to the actual situation. Under normal circumstances, about 5 jin of plastic film is needed to cover one mu of cotton field. If it is a plot planted in single rows, then the width of the plastic film should be kept at about 60cm. For double-row planting, the width of the plastic film should be controlled at about 90-100cm. Then, an appropriate amount of acetochlor and other chemicals should be applied before the cotton seedlings emerge to carry out weed control and ensure the normal growth of cotton seedlings.
The above is a brief introduction to the preparatory work before planting cotton. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and we hope it can help everyone!