THE Cotton and Allied Fibre Crops Division under the Department of Agriculture notified long-staple cotton growers of preparing necessary measures for the pre-monsoon growing season.
Cultivation of pre-monsoon long-staple cotton started in February. Growers are required to make land preparation and operations on time.
The division stated that growers need to store cotton seeds (Ngwechi 6, 10 and 11, Shwetaung-8 and 10) distributed by the division in advance before the growing season, ensure utilization of high-grading pedigree cotton seeds with over 80 per cent yielding rate and genetic uniformity, and keeping them in dry places after sun drying for two to three times.
Additionally, growers must engage in land preparation including removing crop residue, soil treatment and irrigation. They need to choose loamy and sandy land that can hold water. Farmers are asked to plough land firstly when the soil is at an optimal moisture level for soil aeration and easier seed germination and adding water to land before ploughing for the second time and deal with weeds in the farm, harrowing to kill growing weeds, destroying weeds and mature weed seeds and cleaning farm machinery to retain the value, cleaning irrigation channels, use organic fertilizers and use herbicide at least 20-25 days in advance before the growing season to maintain moisture of the soil.
The division informed growers of the pre-monsoon cotton growing season from mid-February to mid-March. — NN/KK
