C O T TO N P R O D U C T I O N

(Gossypium hirsutum)
 ORIGIN AND HISTORY
• The Indus Valley of Pakistan and the Northern part of Peruvian Coast are recorded as possible centres of origin
of cotton
• The most valuable product of the cotton plant is lint i.e. the hairs which grow from the seed coats
• Lint can be spun into a yarn and through out the world is the most important plant product used for textiles
• The history of cotton production in Zambia dates back to the early 1930s when a few settlers grow the crop in
Southern province and Eastern parts of the country
• The crop suffered severe pest and diseases attacks in the 1960s and it’s production declined
• The cotton industry in Zambia started to pick up with the formation of Lint Company of Zambia in 1978 who
mobilized small scale farmers to produce cotton in all parts of country.
• The farmer’s response was so tremendous and high yields were achieved
• The company established itself well in a short period and become well known locally and internationally
 ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE

• Cotton lint - This is the most important fibre that is woven into fabrics either alone or in combination with
other fibres such as silk, rayon, wool, etc.

• Extraction of oil - A high-grade oil, which is semi-dry and edible, is extracted from seed. This is used as
cooking oil and in the manufacture of margarine. The low-grade oil goes into the manufacture of soaps,
lubricants, etc. The residual seed cake after oil extraction is an important concentrate for livestock. This
seed cake is fed to livestock. The low-grade seed cake is used as manure.

• The fibre is made into yarn, twine, tyre cord and cordage. Yarn is the thread used for knitting or weaving
while twine is the strong coarse string of twisted strands of fibre. Cordage are the ropes especially used in
the rigging of a ship.

• Seed hulls are used as roughage and bedding materials for livestock; fuel for lighting, etc. Fuel refers to
materials for burning while bedding materials are primarily used for the comfort of the animal.
 SOIL AND CLIMATIC REQUIREMENTS

• Cotton can grow on a variety of soils i.e. light sandy soils, heavy alluvial clay soils, etc.

• Cotton grows well on sandy clay loam, well drained soils with good depth and good fertility.
It can not tolerate water logging. The optimum pH for cotton production is 5.5
• Cotton is a sun-loving plant and is sensitive to low temperatures which reduce yield. It
cannot tolerate shade especially in the seedling stage. Reduced light intensity retards
flowering and fruiting; and, increases boll shedding. For this reason, production at altitudes
above 1200 metres above sea level is generally not recommended because of the cooler
temperatures.

• The crop does not tolerate very heavy rainfall.

• In Zambia, Cotton grows well in Southern, Central and Eastern provinces and also in the valley
areas of Luangwa and Gwembe. These valleys are suitable because of the prevailing high
temperatures.
 SOIL AND CLIMATIC REQUIREMENTS
• Optimum temperature for seed germination is 34 oC , for seedling and growth 24 oC – 25
oC and full growth 27oC
• Low temperatures slows down flowering
• Cotton is drought tolerant but requires a reliable and well distributed rainfall
• It performs well in areas that receives more than 600mm of rain in the growing season
and It does not tolerant continuous heavy rains

CROP ROTATION
• Cotton can be rotated with maize, groundnuts, sunflower, cowpeas, sorghum, Soybeans
•
 VARIETIES
• Varieties of Cotton grown in Zambia are; Chureza, F1 35, Ngwezi, Chirundu, CDT II and CDT V
PLANTING SEASON

• Cotton is planted starting from the mid of November to the end of November. Under supplementary irrigation
cotton can be planted as early as mid October

PLANTING

• A seed rate of 15 kg/ha for de-linted seed and 20kg/ha for fuzz seed is recommended. De-linted seed is the
seed where the fuzz has been removed.

• A spacing of 90 cm x 30 cm is recommended. At planting, 4 seeds should be sown per station at a depth of 2 -

3 cm leaving 2 strong/healthy seedlings per station at thinning at 2 – 4 leaf stage. Even though Cotton seed is a
relatively large seed, if planted deeper, it will take longer to germinate or may not germinate at all as it lacks
emergence vigour.. When conditions are conducive for germination, the seedling will appear 5 to 15 days above
the ground after sowing
 LAND PREPARATION

• A firm seed bed and fine tilth is required to allow cotton root to penetrate the soil
easily
• Compacted seed beds hinder root penetration. Land preparation can be obtained
through ploughing, discing and harrowing
• Minimum tillage is also being widely used for cotton production
• The land should be prepared early after harvesting the previous crop
• Final seed bed is made just before planting
•
 WEEDING

• The first and second weeding are done at 2 and 6 weeks after planting respectively
▪ The number of weeding may be more or less depending on the weed pressure
• This is done by hand pulling the weeds so that the weed seeds do not contaminate the
Cotton lint

• The critical period of weed competition is between 2 to 7 weeks after germination. Any
delayed weeding will cause up to 10% yield loss every week

• Small scale farmers weed their fields manually while commercial farmers use herbicides
to control the weeds
▪ Herbicides like Trifunalin Triflan 48% pre plant incorporated. 1 – 2.5lts per ha.
▪ Dual 72% EC (Metalochlor) can be used 1 – 2lts per ha.
•
 FERTILIZER APPLICATION
▪ Basal dressing of 200kg/ha compound X (20:10:6) or D (10:20:10) or R (20:20:0)
▪ Under top management apply 200 – 400kg/ha of compound D or X or R
▪ Top dress with 100kg/ha urea or ammonium nitrate

• MICRONUTRIENT DEFICIENCY

• Cotton is sensitive to boron deficiency. This micronutrient deficiency causes

malformation of flowers and stunting in severe cases
• Application of Solubor is necessary. This is applied with the first insecticidal spray
• Solubor is added to provide the boron since Compound D does not contain boron.
However, boronated fertilizers e.g. Compound C (6:18:12 _0.1 B), may be used instead
• In such cases, a conversion has to be carried out to ensure that the correct quantities of
fertilizers are applied
 PESTS MANAGEMENT
• BOLLWORM

• Several species are involved and the most damage is done by the larvae;
a. American bollworm (Heliothes armigera): The larvae feed on buds,
flowers and green bolls. It moves about the plant. It has pale strips on the
sides
b. Red bollworm (Diparopsis spp) common is Diparopsis casteneum. A
mature worm has rose red arrow marking on the upper and side on the
white background. It feeds on flowers and green bolls. The larvae are less
mobile
c. Spiny boll warm (Earius insulana) has short fresh spikes on a short
body segments; it burrows downwards from a growing bud. It attacks
and destroys flower buds, green bolls and bores into the tips of the stem,
thus retarding normal development of the branches.
 PESTS MANAGEMENT
• Young larvae bore into flower buds and feed on the contents
• The affected flower buds will later dehisce
• The larvae can also penetrate into a boll and remain inside,
eating out the contents
• The caterpillars feed in the bolls damaging the lint and seed
• This causes a considerable reduction in yield and quality

• PREVENTION/CONTROL

• This is done by carrying out phyto-sanitation (field hygiene),

use of insecticides (karate, decis, cyrux, fastac) and practising
crop rotation with cereal crops, oil crops, etc
 APHIDS (Aphis gossypii)
• The aphids are greenish or black in colour and are found on the underside
of young leaves of young shoots

• These suck sap from leaves resulting in curling/distortion of leaves

• Due to their feeding habits, aphids secrete sticky honey dew upon which
sooty mould develops; and this will appear on the upper side of leaves

• Prevention/Control

• Use of insecticides (Pirimor or Dimethoate)

• Practising crop rotation with non-host plants e.g. oil crops
 JASSIDS (Empoasca fascialis)
• Jassids are pale green bugs that are found on the underside of leaves

• When disturbed, Jassids may rapidly run sideways

• The damaged leaves will curl downwards, turn yellow in colour at first and
then red. In severe cases, leaves may dry up and be shed.

• Prevention/Control

• One way is to use resistant varieties. Varieties with hairy leaves are
resistant to attack.

• Use insecticides like Endosulfan and Carbaryl

• Practice crop rotation with cereal crops, oil crops, etc

 COTTO N STAI NERS ( Dysdercus spp. )

• Stainers are the red bugs found in a Cotton bush. If the Cotton bush is
shaken, they will fall to the ground. Stainers are sucking insects which feed
on seeds

• They cause small green bolls to either abort or turn brown. The brown
colour is due to death of seeds

• On large green bolls, no damage is visible externally but if inner walls are
examined, there is yellow staining on the developing lint due to the sap
they suck from seeds. Stainers are vectors of a fungi Nematospora spp,
which causes internal boll rot. The fungal spores are injected into the boll
causing staining of the lint
 LEAF EATERS (Co smo phi l a , Xanthodes , Sylepta )

• Leaf eaters feed on the leaves of the crop.

• Pest Control

• Pests of Cotton can be controlled in 2 ways, as follows:

1. Scouting, followed by appropriate spray control.

2. Fixed spray regime.

• This means that the farmer has to make a choice on the

options available. However, scouting gives the best results as
spraying is based on the results from the scouting guide.
 PEST SCOUTING

• This is the examining of crops in order to determine accurately how many kinds of
insect pests are present in the field
• Scouting should start when the second pair of true leaves appear and has expanded
fully
• The field is examined from one corner to the other in a zigzag manner
• At least 50 plants should be examined per line taken and the type of insects found
should be recorded in the note book
• This process should be done through out the growing period of the crop at weekly
interval.
 PEST SCOUTING

INSECT PEST SPRAY

American Bollworm (Heliothis armigera) As soon as the worm count reaches 1 per 2 plants.
Intensify scouting from 1st flower stage
Spiny Bollworm (Earias biplaga) When small caterpillars are found

Red Bollworm (Diparopsis castenea) As soon as any eggs are found

Aphids (Aphis gossypii) Either when a colony is found on a few plants or when
colonies are present on numerous /many plants

Jassid (Empoasca fascialis) When more than 2 Jassids per leaf

Stainers (Dysdercus spp.) As soon as adults or nymphs are seen

Leaf eaters (Cosmophila, Xanthodes, Sylepta) When damage is obvious

 COMMONLY USED PESTICIDES
INSECT PEST PESTICIDE

• Pyrethroids are still being

Jassids and Aphids Systemic used to control pests
organophosphates • These include Cypermethrin,
e.g. Monocrotophos Karate, Fastac, Ripcord

American and Spiny Endosulfan (Thiodan)

Bollworm

Red Bollworm and Carbaryl (Sevin 85% W.P.)

Stainers
 BACTERIAL BLIGHT (Xanthomonas malvacearum)

• Initially, the disease appears as lesions on the seedlings. As

the disease progresses, water-soaked spots or streaks will
appear on cotyledons or hypocotyl. These will darken to
produce necrotic lesions. This may kill young plants

• On adult plants, infection occurs on the stems resulting in the

production of dark, elongated necrotic cankers

• On mature plants, the bacteria will invade bolls to initiate boll

rot.

• The sources of inoculum are the seed and Cotton debris

 PREVENTION/CONTROL

• Phyto-sanitary measures such as destruction of crop residues in the field

• Use of treated seed will prevent the disease

 HARVESTING

• Cotton takes about 6 months in the field before harvesting. Harvesting takes place from late
April to August

• Picking is done by hand. It is recommended to start picking Cotton when 3-4 bolls per
station have burst open, the lint should be thoroughly dry and fluffy. At the start of
harvesting, only lint that is clean and free from foreign matter contaminants like leaves, twigs,
weed seeds, etc should be picked
• During the first harvest, only Grade ‘A’ Cotton should be picked. Grade ‘A’ is clean, white,
mature, with only occasional flecks of staining. Later, lower grade Cotton is picked
separately
• It is recommended to pick the lint regularly to avoid deterioration in colour and quantity.
When not picked regularly, the colour of the lint will turn grey. The picking interval is 2
weeks. Usually 3 to 4 pickings are done to obtain best yields and quality
 GRADING OF SEED COTTON

• Class A – is a clean white mature seed cotton, occasionally small flecks of stain and small
amount of leaf trash are permissible and no other impurities. Immature or big lint even
though clean and white is not permitted

• Class B – clean white mature cotton can contain some amounts of weak stained or
discolored cotton. Leaf trash, extraneous matter, damaged seed can be tolerated to some
extent should not have obvious sticks or plant parts

• Class C – is seed cotton that contains obvious, but not substantial amounts of stained or
discolored cotton, leaf trash, extraneous matter and damaged seed
•
• Moisture content – all picked cotton should have a maximum moisture content of 8 %
•
 YIELD

• Under commercial production, the expected yield is 1,800 to 2,000kg/ha while for
small scale farmers, it is in the range of 800 to 1,200kg/ha

• These yields are obtained when the crop is well managed, planted between mid to
late November, weeded early and sprayed to a fixed and strict regime
 LEGISLATION

• Act of Parliament CAP 340, after harvest, all cotton plants must be uprooted
and destroyed by 1st October, 2024

• Legislation is for compulsory uprooting and burning of plants after harvest to

minimize occurrence of diseases and pests from one season to the next

• Penalties are prescribed for failure to comply with these regulations