1. Cotton

2. Leading Countries
1. China
2. USA
3. India
4. Pakistan
5. Uzbekistan

3. Botany A perennial Coldest temps. 650F Height = 2-5 feet
Deep tap root (up to 3’ deep)
Bolls (Fruit – lint)
Squares (Flowers)
Only open for one day

4. Cotton plants produce far more fruiting structures than they can mature.
They will shed as much as 60-70%
Of the early season squares, 40 – 50% are shed.
Of the late season squares, up to 90% are shed.

5. Fruiting Structures
75 % of the total yield comes from bolls at the first node on a fruiting branch.
About 15% of the total yield comes from bolls at the second position on a fruiting branch.
About 10% of the total yield comes from bolls beyond the second position on a fruiting branch.

6. Heat Units Planting to emergence 50 First true leaves 100
First square
First open flower
First boll susceptible to pink
boll worm 1,050-1,100
First open boll 1,900-2,000
How to calculate heat units:
Daily low + daily high ÷ 2 – 600F = heat units

7. Varieties Acala – Gossypium hisutum Pima – Gossypium barbadense
Cross - Hazera

8. Acala Fibers range from ¾” to 1 ¼” White Flowers 4-5 lock bolls
7-9 ovules
55 – 70 bolls per pound of seed
2-5’ tall

9. Pima Fibers range from 1 ½” to 2” Yellow Flowers 3 lock bolls
5-7 ovules
100 – 135 bolls per pound of seed
2-5’ tall

10. Cultural Practices Tillage Planting Crop Rotation Rip Disc
Seed bed (row spacing – 38” – 40”)
Planting
Depth, ¾ - 2 “
2-3 plants per foot
Crop Rotation
Follows Alfalfa or other legume

11. Planting 1 pound of seed = 3,500 to 5,200 seeds
Rates = 24 to 40 pounds per acre
20,000 to 50,000 plants per acre gives the best yields.
30” beds for high density planting
38” – 40” normal planting
Plants are 3” to 8” apart.

12. Fertilization N, 80-120 lbs./ac P, 18-20 lbs./ac K, 18-20 lbs./ac
Note; to much N can cause rank growth.
Also amounts will depend on the soil type.
In addition, 60% of the mineral nutrients are taken up between squares and boll formation.

13. Irrigation
The goal is to keep 50% field capacity or higher through out the growing season.
You will apply, depending on the soil texture, acre feet per season. (normal 27” – 30”)
A plant during peak season can take up to of an inch of water a day.

14. Growth and Development
Cotton matures 150 days after planting.
It emerges 7-10 days after planting.
Blooms early July.
First bolls open mid to late August.
Fibers length is fully developed in 18 – 21 days
Note: to prevent rank growth one might apply a growth regulator such as; Pix, Mepex, Topit, Mepichlor, ect..

15. Cut out is determined by “NAWF” Nodes above White Flower “NAWF”
Gin Turn Out
Cut out is determined by “NAWF”
Nodes above White Flower “NAWF”
5 for Acala 3.5 for pima
Nodes above Cracked Boll “NACB”
4 nodes

16. Weed management
Early season weeds reduce yields due to the competition for nutrients and light.
Late season weeds cause problems in harvesting and quality.
Common herbicides; Prowl, Poast, Lorax, Fusilade 2000, & Round-up in Round-up ready varities.
Mechanical cultivation is a common practice.

17. Diseases Fursaruim Wilt Vericilium Wilt Bacterial blight
Cotton-boll rots
Root-knot nematode
Root rot

18. Fursaruim Wilt

19. Vericilium Wilt

20. Bacterial blight

21. Cotton-boll rots

22. Root-knot nematode

23. Root rot

24. Insects
Pink Bollworm
Boll Weevil
Aphid
White Fly
Lygus
Mites

25. Pink Bollworm

26. Pink Bollworm

27. Cotton Bollworm

28. Boll Weevil

29. Western Yellowstriped Armyworm

30. Aphid

31. White Fly

32. Lygus

33. Mite

34. Harvesting Defoliation Why do we defoliate? Picking Modules
How does the cotton picker work?

35. Ginning The cotton fibers are removed from the seed.
There are two different methods used and they depend on the variety.

36. Grades of cotton Grades are determined on; Color Ginning preparation
Maturity
Leaf and other foreign matter
There are 9 basic grades of cotton which are broken into 32 different grades

37. Quality Grades These are determined by;
Fiber length (staple) measured by a fibrograph
Length uniformity, measured by a high value instrument
Fiber strength, measured by a high value instrument
Fiber fineness and maturity, measured by a micronaire instrument.
What is city cotton?

38. Cotton Grades & Grade Characteristics
1 Middling fair
2 Strict good middling
3 Good middling
4 Strict middling
5 Middling
6 Strict low middling
7 Low middling
8 Strict good ordinary
9 Good ordinary

39. Quality specification of cotton
Staple Classification
Fiber strenth
Length uniformity
Quality factor
**look at Table 26-5**

40. Tools used to measure and grade cotton
HVI = high value instrument, use to measure length uniformity and strength.
Nickerson-Hunter colorimeter = this instument measures color and assigns a values Rd (light or dark) and +b (yellowness)
Micronaire = the diameter of the lint fiber

41. Terms Square Boll Lock Lint Tagging Rank growth City cotton
Cotton seed
Seed cotton
Linters
Bale
Nip
Nap
Hue
Gin turn out
Lint / lint + seed