Districtwise Promising Technologies for Rainfed Cotton based Production System in India

Abstract

Cotton assumes a place of significance in Indian agriculture and economy due to its role in providing employment to millions of people, earning valuable foreign exchange and improving the economy of farmers. All the four cultivable species and their hybrids are grown in India under diverse agro-ecological and farming conditions. India has made significant strides since independence in improving the production, productivity and fibre quality resulting in meeting the domestic requirements as well as export. Cotton (Gossypium sp.) is one of the most important commercial crops playing a key role in economics. In India, cotton is cultivated in 7.8 million hectares in varied agro-ecological conditions across nine major states. Cotton cultivation offers employment of 200 mandays/ha annually. It employs directly and indirectly more than 60 million persons in its production, processing and marketing. India has the largest area under cotton, but its production is just 15.2 million bales, much lower for the vast area. Cotton is grown on a variety of soils. In cotton selection of soil is very important. Soil should be black medium to deep (90cm) having good drainage availability. Cotton does not tolerate waterlogging condition. It is grown mainly as a dry crop in the black cotton and medium black soils. Cotton is a tropical and subtropical crop. For the successful germination of its seeds, a minimum temperature of 15o C is required. The optimum temperature range for vegetative growth is 21 o - 27 o C. It can tolerate temperatures as high as 43 oC, but does not grow well if the temperature falls below 21 oC. During the period of fruiting, warm days and cool nights with large diurnal variations are conducive to good boll and fibre development.