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Growing guide

How to grow cotton

The south-west’s cash crop — long season, high value, and a constant fight with pink bollworm and whitefly.

At a glance

Planting window: 15 April – 15 May
Duration: 160–180 days
Climate: 21–35 °C; dry weather at boll opening
Soil: Deep loam to sandy loam; pH 6.5–8.5
Water need: Moderate · about 700–900 mm a season
Seed: As per the hybrid packet — usually two 475 g Bt packets per acre
Yield: 8–12 quintals of seed cotton per acre with good pest control; far less in heavy pink bollworm years.

Dates assume planting around 20 Apr. Change the plan to shift them.

3–9 weeks before — Clear last season’s sticks: Pink bollworm survives in stored sticks and bolls — shred or remove them.
Days -5–0 — Pre-sowing irrigation: Sow at the right moisture.
Day 0 — Sow approved Bt hybrid: With the refuge seed in the packet.
Days 30–45 — First irrigation: Then every 2–3 weeks by weather.
Months 2–3 — Traps and weekly scouting: Pheromone traps for pink bollworm; count whitefly and jassids on leaves.
Months 2–3 — Nitrogen splits: At squaring and flowering.
Months 5–6 — Pick: 3–4 pickings; keep lint clean and dry.
Months 6–7 — Terminate and clear: Do not extend the crop; remove sticks before next season.

Buy certified seed or planting material from an authorised source.

BG-II Bt hybrids approved for the North Zone — Pick from the current state-approved list; avoid unapproved “HTBt” seed.
Desi cotton (G. arboreum) — Naturally tolerant of leaf curl virus; lower input need; shorter staple.

First irrigation 4–6 weeks after sowing, then every 2–3 weeks by weather; stop by end of September.
Never let it go short at: Squaring · Flowering · Boll development
Drip with fertigation lifts yields and cuts weed pressure.
Drip irrigation suits this crop.

Zinc and boron sprays help where deficient. Follow your university’s dose for your soil test.

Dose: Bt hybrids under irrigation: about 150 kg N, 60 kg P₂O₅, 60 kg K₂O per hectare
At sowing: all phosphorus and potash with a third of the nitrogen.
Squaring: second third.
Flowering: final third.

Prevent first; spray only when needed, with a product registered for the crop, at label dose.

Common grower practice in north India Widely followed by farmers; confirm with your KVK for your block.
ICAR / state university general recommendation A typical range for irrigated conditions. Your soil test decides the final dose.
Agriculture Novel indicative estimate A planning number, not a quote. Replace it with your own costs and your mandi’s price.
Minimum Support Prices, Kharif Marketing Season 2026-27 Government of India, approved 14 May 2026.