Reform of cotton planting mode combined with autumn sowing production

In recent years, in order to promote the high yield of cotton, the Ministry of Agriculture has carried out activities to create a high yield of 10,000 mu of cotton in the main cotton producing provinces throughout the country. Recently, I have investigated the high-yield cotton fields in Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and other provinces. Previous investigations have been conducted in the high-yield cotton fields in Hunan and Zhejiang provinces. The goal of creating high-yield cotton is roughly the same, but the planting patterns are not the same and the planting methods are different.

Cotton yield is composed of planting density, number of peaches per plant, boll weight and lint percentage, in which planting density is closely related to cotton yield, and planting density is inseparable from planting mode.

Before the 1980s, conventional cotton was mainly planted in most cotton areas, with a planting density of 3000 to 4000 plants per mu. With the transplanting of cotton seedlings in nutrition bowls and the popularization and application of hybrid cotton, especially the demonstration and popularization of transgenic hybrid insect-resistant cotton, the planting density per mu gradually decreased, but the decline varied in different places, with about 1500 plants in some provinces, about 1300 plants in some provinces, and only about 1100 plants in some provinces. The planting methods are also different, some are mainly planted in wide and narrow rows, some are mainly planted in wide rows, some are mainly in wide rows, some are mainly in wide and other rows, and some are planted in narrow rows and wide plants, which are square-shaped.

Through my on-the-spot investigation, especially in the cloudy and rainy climate in July and September this year, the cotton fields with narrow row spacing (less than 1 meter) were closed earlier, the cotton fields were under insufficient light, and the buds and bolls fell off more seriously. Generally, the shedding rate is more than 50%, especially in the cotton fields with excessive fertilization and partial application of nitrogen fertilizer, the shedding of buds and bolls is more aggravated, and the shedding rate is as high as 60%. There are up to 10 rotten peaches per plant of cotton, and there are still rotten peaches in some places by mid-October, resulting in a 10% reduction in cotton yield and a 2030% yield reduction in more cotton fields, while in cotton fields with wide row spacing and good ventilation and light, the shedding rate of buds and bolls is less than 50%. Rotten peaches are much less, and the yield reduction is lighter. This painful lesson is particularly worthy of our summary.

At present, it is the critical period of autumn sowing production, and the main cotton producing areas can reform the planting mode by combining the sowing and transplanting of rape. If full sowing wheat or full sowing (transplanting) rape is carried out, the planting mode of wheat and rape should also be reformed immediately after harvest, advocating wide row (1.2 m) dense plant (plant spacing 0.4 m) and equal row (not less than 1 m) expanding plant (plant spacing 0.45-0.5 m), which is not suitable for wide and narrow row and square arrangement planting, let alone the narrow row dense plant planting of conventional cotton. The planting density of 1300-1500 plants per mu is suitable, and all localities should proceed from the local reality and can make appropriate adjustments. For example, in the plain cotton area with better soil fertility and higher fertilization level, the planting density can be moderately reduced, while in hills, hills and cotton areas with lower fertilization level, the planting density can be increased appropriately.

To reform the cotton planting mode, first, it is beneficial to save the labor of transplanting cotton, especially the large cotton planting households, and it is easier to save labor and save expenses, because now the labor of young and middle-aged people in rural areas is basically out of work, and most of the rest are old and weak labor; second, the seedlings of crops in winter are small and the climate is relatively dry, which is conducive to the reform of planting methods; third, it is conducive to turning the cotton line in winter and spring, so that the reserved cotton line is clean and reduces overwintering pests. Fourth, it is conducive to cotton field preparation, fertilization, transplanting cotton seedlings, ditching and drainage; fifth, it is conducive to the operation and management of cultivating soil, raising ridges, preventing and controlling diseases and insect pests in the field after cotton planting; sixth, it is conducive to ventilation and light transmission between cotton rows, improve photosynthetic efficiency, reduce rotten bolls and improve cotton quality. As long as the reform of planting mode takes a big step forward, it can create good ecological conditions for the survival of cotton, and cotton can lay a solid foundation for high yield and high quality if it has sufficient space to expand.