Commercial Cotton Farming Business in India – Complete Guide

Cotton is tIndia’smost important fibre and cash crop and the entire world. Hence, it has a broader place in the agricultural economy of India. In addition, it gives a raw material for the cotton textile industry. Cotton farming provides livelihood to the 6 million farmers, and around 40 to 50 million people work in the textile industry in India. Approximately 6% of the water is used for cotton cultivation as it is a water-thirsty crop. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, MP, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and UP are the largest producers of cotton crops. Followed by Maharastra and Punjab, Gujarat is the higher producer of cotton. It is a vital Kharif crop in Punjab, and the average lint production in the state is 697 kg/hectare. 

How to Do Commercial Cotton Farming in India

To cultivate the cotton on a commercial basis, you have to be sure about the following tips and requirements of the crop. So let’s know about them without wasting our costly time. 

Climate Requirements

The temperature for the cotton crop is ideal, between 15 to 35°C. It needs 55 to 100 cm of rainfall to give a high yield. You should do sowing operation of cotton in temperature between 25 to 35°C so that the crop can provide a healthy and high result. The proper harvesting operations must be in 15 to 25°C temperature. As a farmer or a business owner, you should try these operations at the desired temperature. 

Soil Requirement

Cotton is a versatile crop and can be cultivated in any soil type. However, you have to ensure that the soil’s pH level must be between 6 and 8. For cotton cultivation, Deep, friable, well-drained with high fertility rate soil is good. On the other hand, saline, sandy and waterlogged soils are not suitable for cotton farming. Ensure the depth of the soil is between 20 to 25 cm. You can take help for these operations from high-quality tractors like Mahindra 265 DI and others. 

Popular Varieties of Cotton

Following are the popular varieties of cotton with their yield production. 

• BCHH 6488 BG II – this variety is ready to harvest in 165-170 days.
• RCH 134BT – 11.5 QTL/acre
• RCH 317BT – 10.5 QTL/acre
• MRC 6301BT – 10 QTL/acre
• MRC 6304BT – 10.1 QTL/acre
• Ankur 651 – 7 QTL/acre
• Whitegold – 6.5 QTL/acre
• LHH 144 – 7.6 QTL/acre
• F 1861 – 6.5 QTL/acre
• F 1378 – 10 QTL/acre
• LHH 1556 – 8.5 QTL/acre
• F 846 – 11 QTL/acre
• Moti – 8.45 QTL/acre

Desi varieties of cotton are:

• LD 1019 – 8.6QTL/acre
• FMDH 9 – 10 QTL/acre
• FDK 124 – 9.3 QTL/acre
• LD 694 – 7 QTL/acre
• LD 327 – 11.5 QTL/acre

American varieties of cotton:

• PAU Bt 1 – 11.2QTL/acre
• RCH 650 BG II – 9.5 QTL/acre
• NCS 855 BG II – 9.7 QTL/acre
• ANKUR 3028 BG II – 9.7 QTL/acre
• MRC 7017 BG II – 10.4 QTL/acre
• MRC 7031 BG II – 9.8 QTL/acre

Other state varieties: Ankur 226BG, Sigma Bt, SDS 1368 Bt, PCH 406 BT, SDS 9Bt, NAMCOT 402 Bt, 6317 Bt, 6488 Bt, GK 206 Bt, MRC 7017 BG II, NCS 145 BG II, ACH 33-2 BG II, MRC 7031 BG II, JKCH 1050 Bt, MRC 6025 Bt, NCS 913 Bt, NCS 138 Bt, MRC 6029 Bt, RCH 308 Bt, RCH 314 Bt, etc.

Land Preparation

Land preparation drives the perfect germination and growth of the crops. You should irrigate the field immediately after removing the Ravi crop for cotton farming. After that, the ploughing and planking operations take place. It will help keep the farm free from perennial weeds and various soil-borne diseases. So, land preparation takes an important place in the growth of any crop. That’s why you should use an excellent tractor like New Holland 3600 and others for land preparation. 

Sowing

From April to mid-May is the perfect time for sowing operations. You should sow the pests free crops surrounding cotton crops. For the Americal cotton, the spacing must be 75×15 cm under irrigated conditions. It will be 60×30 cm under rainfed conditions. 60×30 cm is suitable for the Desi cotton under both conditions rain fed as well as irrigated. You should keep the sowing depth of 5 cm. 

Irrigation 

We show the irrigation of cotton crops by the following table. 

Harvesting

You can pick the bolls when they are fully matured. You should not pick up the bolls, which are wet or stuck with the dry leaves. Damaged bolls can be stored for seed purposes. The quality of the bolls may be different, so do not mix them and keep them separately. You should harvest American cotton at an interval of 15 to 20 days. 

So this is all for the cotton farming, to get more, stay with us.