How to Grow Cotton

Cotton plant is a shrub, belonging to the genus Gossypium of the family Malvaceae. It grows up to the height of about 10 feet and has three to five lobed leaves. Cotton fibers of different colors such as white, brown and green are found in the nature. However, cotton plants of white-colored fibers are mostly grown, so as to avoid the mixing of genetic components. In fact, growing colored cotton plants is banned in many areas.

Commercially, cotton plants are grown for their fibers that are present around the seeds in a structure, commonly referred to as a boll. Two types of fibers are extracted from the cotton plant - the long fiber and the short fiber. Ginning method is used to extract the cotton fibers for the commercial use. The long fibers, also called staples, are removed in the first round of ginning; whereas the short fibers or linters are extracted in the second ginning process.

How to Grow Cotton

Though cotton can be grown either by using seeds or plantlets, mostly seed plantation is practiced. Whatever be the type of planting material, it is necessary to prepare the soil around late February or early March for growing cotton. The soil should be tilled at least 2 inches deep in order to avoid unwanted weeds. For enriching the soil with plant nutrients, you can add farmyard compost, humus or a combination of both. Make sure to add adequate amounts of supplements (about an inch) and till again to mix with soil.

After the soil preparation, you can create rows by dragging a garden hoe in a straight line. In between two rows, a space of about 30 inches should be left for the healthy plant growth. Depending upon the size of the plantation site, you can decide the number of rows. Following this, water deeply in order to dampen the soil. As cotton seeds require warm condition for germination, you can check the soil temperature by using a thermometer. If the soil temperature is around 60 degree Fahrenheit at about 5-6 inches deep, then you can sow the cotton seeds.

The seeds should be planted at about an inch deep in the groups of three, leaving a space of 4-5 inches between them and cover the seeds properly with soil. The cotton seeds will germinate within 6-10 days after plantation. As the plantlets emerge, water them lightly. In peak summer season, watering should be done once in a week. After two months of seed sowing, the flower buds will appear.

The newly developed flower bud is often called a square. This is the stage when the cotton plants are highly susceptible to thrips and boll weevils. The plants should be examined carefully; you can use proper pesticides (if necessary) in order to control any disease attacks. Within three weeks, the square develops into a pinkish or yellowish bloom that withers after two days. As the petals fall away, you can notice the tiny ball in the center of the receptacle.

In the fall, the cotton bolls mature and turn brown. The fibers inside the boll continue to expand, which then split the boll apart. In this stage, you can notice the fluffy cotton fibers bursting out of the boll, which indicates that the bolls are ready for harvesting. Harvesting of the ripe cotton bolls is done either by hand (small plantation) or by picker or stripper machine.