Mechanized Micro-bowl Seedling raising Technology of Cotton

The traditional nutrition bowl seedling raising method has some shortcomings, such as too much labor, complex seedling bed management, high transplanting labor intensity and so on. The mechanized micro-bowl cotton seedling raising technology developed by the Economic Institute of Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Jiangsu Agricultural Technology extension Center broke through the traditional mode of cotton seedling raising by manual operation for a long time, and achieved the goal of labor-saving and labor-saving in cotton seedling raising. At present, the mechanized micro-bowl seedling raising technology is in the experimental and demonstration stage, and it has not been popularized and applied on a large scale, and farmers do not fully understand and master the technology. To this end, our reporter interviewed Zhang Peitong, an expert on cotton cultivation at the Economic Research Institute of Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, on the advantages and disadvantages of mechanized micro-bowl seedlings and detailed technical links.

According to reports, the mechanized micro-bowl seedling raising technology is to use bowl-making machinery to make a micro-bowl with a height of about 4.5 cm and a diameter of about 3.5 cm, and then sow cotton seeds into a nutrition bowl. The advantages of this seedling raising method over the traditional nutrition bowl seedling raising method are mainly shown in the following aspects: first, the mechanical bowl-making method is used, and the bowl-making speed is fast, which can produce 2500-3000 bowls per hour, which is equivalent to the manual bowl-making capacity of 5 hours. Second, the bowl body is small, the amount of nutritious soil is small, and the seedling bed is small, which can save more than 2 workers per mu of soil preparation. Third, the seedling raising period is shortened, and the cotton seedlings can be replanted with plastic film at the heart stage of 2 leaves and 1 heart stage, which can save 1 nursery bed management labor per mu. Fourth, the transplanting operation is simple, and more than 2 transplanting labor can be saved per mu. However, the price of bowl-making machinery is high (3000 yuan per machine), and the input cost is high for farmers with small cotton planting scale, which limits the development of mechanized micro-bowl seedling raising technology. To speed up the pace of research and develop small bowl-making instruments suitable for each household is an urgent task for the application and development of this technology.

The mechanized micro-bowl seedling raising method is suitable to be used in the coastal areas where the soil is clay and loam, and the bowl rate is low in the areas where the soil is sandy, so it is best to use the traditional nutrient bowl to raise seedlings. In terms of transplanting survival rate and slow seedling stage, as long as the seedling age is suitable and the quality of cotton seedling is good, the transplanting survival rate and slow seedling stage can reach the index of traditional nutrition bowl. It is worth noting that the suitable seedling age of transplanting with mechanized micro-bowl is 2 leaves and 1 heart, and the period of more than 2 leaves and 1 heart is not conducive to transplanting survival, and sowing should be postponed in the areas with late stubble.

Because of the small body and short seedling age of the mechanized micro-bowl, the seedling management is different from that of the traditional nutrition bowl. The sowing date of ⑴ is confirmed. The time of raising seedlings should be postponed appropriately, the sowing time of early stubble is around April 15, and the sowing time of middle and late stubble is around April 25. ⑵ sowing operation. Sow seeds after watering the seedbed, sow 1-2 grains per bowl, cover 1-1.5 cm thick fine soil, and fill the gap between nutrition bowls. After sowing, the seedbed was sprayed with herbicide, a small arch shed with a height of 50-55 cm was built, and the drainage ditch around the seedbed was cleaned. ⑶ seedbed management. High temperature and high humidity accelerate the seedling before sowing. Close the greenhouse film before emergence, remove the film and dry the bed on a sunny day to reduce humidity, prevent cotton seedlings from leaping up to form tall seedlings and prevent diseases. Broad-spectrum protective fungicides were sprayed to prevent seedling diseases during cotyledon spreading, while strong seedlings were sprayed in seedling beds without cotyledons. The temperature of seedling bed was controlled at 25-30 ℃ at seedling stage. After the temperature rises, open the two-end greenhouse film and vents to cool down to ensure that the cotton seedlings warm the bed overnight and promote the seedlings to grow quickly. Cover the greenhouse film to keep warm in case of overcast and rainy weather. Uncover the film and refine the seedlings 4-5 days before transplanting, control the moisture, and ensure that the bowl is intact when transplanting. The seedling age was 20-22 days, and the cotton seedlings were transplanted at 2 leaves and 1 heart stage.