Farming and Cultivation Technologies of Cotton in China

Cotton production in China has developed rapidly during the last 60 years. Using only 15% of the world’s cotton land, China currently has produced 30% of the world\u27s cotton. Such a great achievement is largely attributed to adoption of intensive farming technologies and cultural practices, including seedling transplanting, plastic mulching, double cropping, plant pruning, and super-high plant density technique. However, the intensive technologies are labor intensive and involve large input of materials such as fertilizers, pesticides, and plastic films. Thus, there are increasing challenges from labor shortage, soil pollution, and low competitiveness. Here, the achievements, challenges, countermeasures, and prospects for intensive cotton cultivation in China are reviewed. An important conclusion from this review is to reform the current intensive technology to be more light and simplified. Sustainable development of cotton production in China will be supported by the light and simplified farming and cultural system, and China cotton has a bright prospect

On Potassium Deficiency in Cotton– Disorder, Cause and Tissue Diagnosis

As modern cotton varieties including Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) transgenic cotton are adopted and yield per unit area continues to increase, potassium deficiency is occurring with rising frequency in many cotton-growing countries. Symptoms of K deficiencies used to occur at the bottom of the plant on the older or mature leaves, but more recently described symptoms show up on young leaves near the top of the plant. Potassium deficiency induces numerous disorders in cotton, including decreased leaf area index, photosynthesis and plant biomass, but enhances specific leaf weight and earliness of maturity. Low supply and uptake of K, adoption of modern cotton varieties particularly Bt transgenic cotton, and environmental stress are obvious contributors to potassium deficiency. Single leaf photosynthesis (Pn) reduction results mainly from decreased stomatal conductance, low chlorophyl content, poor chloroplast ultrastructure, restricted saccharide translocation, and decreased synthesis of RuBP carboxylase under K deficient conditions. Canopy photosynthesis reduction in K-deficient plants is mainly attributed to both inhibited single leaf Pn rate and decreased leaf area index. Potassium concentrations in both blade and petiole of top fully expanded leaves on main stem are good indicators of K deficiency

High-throughput estimation of plant height and above-ground biomass of cotton using digital image analysis and Canopeo

Plant height and above-ground biomass are important growth parameters that affect crop yield. Efficient and non-destructive technologies of crop phenotypic monitoring play crucial roles in intelligent farmland management. However, the feasibility of using these technologies to estimate cotton plant height and above-ground biomass has not been determined. This study proposed a low cost and high-throughput imaging method combined with Canopeo to extract the percentages of green color from high-definition digital images and establish a model to estimate the cotton plant height and above-ground biomass. The plant height and above-ground biomass field trials were conducted at two levels of irrigation (soil water content 70% ± 5% and 40%−45%, respectively) using 80 cotton genotypes. The linear fitting performed well across the different cotton genotypes (PH, R2 = 0.9829; RMSE = 2.4 cm; NRMSE = 11% and AGB, R2 = 0.9609; RMSE = 0.6 g / plant; and NRMSE = 5%), and two levels of irrigation (PH, R2 = 0.9604; RMSE = 2.15 cm; NRMSE = 6% and AGB, R2 = 0.9650; RMSE = 4.51 g/plant; and NRMSE = 17%). All reached a higher fitting degree. Additionally, the most comprehensive model to estimate the cotton plant height and above-ground biomass (Y = 0.4832*X + 11.04; Y = 0.4621*X − 0.3591) was determined using a simple linear regression modeling method. The percentages of green color positively correlated with plant height and above-ground biomass, and each model exhibited higher accuracy (R2 ≥ 0.8392, RMSE ≤ 0.0158, NRMSE ≤ 0.06%). Combining a high-definition digital camera with Canopeo enables the prediction of crop growth in the field. The simple linear regression modeling method and the most comprehensive model enable the rapid estimation of the cotton plant height and above-ground biomass. This method can also be used as a baseline to measure other important crop phenotypes

Effects of non-uniform root zone salinity on water use, Na+ recirculation, and Na+ and H+ flux in cotton

A new split-root system was established through grafting to study cotton response to non-uniform salinity. Each root half was treated with either uniform (100/100 mM) or non-uniform NaCl concentrations (0/200 and 50/150 mM). In contrast to uniform control, non-uniform salinity treatment improved plant growth and water use, with more water absorbed from the non- and low salinity side. Non-uniform treatments decreased Na+ concentrations in leaves. The [Na+] in the ‘0’ side roots of the 0/200 treatment was significantly higher than that in either side of the 0/0 control, but greatly decreased when the ‘0’ side phloem was girdled, suggesting that the increased [Na+] in the ‘0’ side roots was possibly due to transportation of foliar Na+ to roots through phloem. Plants under non-uniform salinity extruded more Na+ from the root than those under uniform salinity. Root Na+ efflux in the low salinity side was greatly enhanced by the higher salinity side. NaCl-induced Na+ efflux and H+ influx were inhibited by amiloride and sodium orthovanadate, suggesting that root Na+ extrusion was probably due to active Na+/H+ antiport across the plasma membrane. Improved plant growth under non-uniform salinity was thus attributed to increased water use, reduced leaf Na+ concentration, transport of excessive foliar Na+ to the low salinity side, and enhanced Na+ efflux from the low salinity root

Enhancing waterlogging tolerance in cotton through agronomic practices

Abstract Recent publications have highlighted significant progress in utilizing agronomic interventions to alleviate waterlogging stress in cotton production. Based on these advancements, we provide a concise comment on the effects and underlying mechanisms of various strategies such as utilizing stress-tolerant cotton varieties, applying nitric oxide (NO), and implementing ridge intertillage. Finally, we recommend a combination of measures to enhance cotton's ability to withstand waterlogging and reduce yield losses

On the Preparation and Implementation of Research Budget in Agricultural Institutes

Over the years, more attention has been focused on the implementation than on the preparation of the research budget in the agricultural institutes of China, resulting in the unscientific and unreasonable budgeting of research funds. The practical implementation of the research funds has also been adversely affected. In this paper, the problems as well as the root causes of those problems in the budgeting and implementation of research funds were analyzed, and corresponding solutions and suggestions were also presented

Early Maturity Mechanism and High-Yielding Cultivation of Short-Season Cotton in China

Short-season cotton is a type of cotton variety characterized by its abbreviated cycle, rapid development, and concentrated flowering and boll setting. Compared with full-season cotton, short-season cotton facilitates an easier attainment of desirable maturation even when sown relatively late. This advantage of late sowing and early maturation eliminates the necessity for plastic film mulching, thereby creating opportunities for diversified double cropping, such as cotton–wheat, cotton–garlic, cotton–rape, and cotton–triticale systems. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the morphological, physiological, and molecular biological mechanisms underlying early maturity in short-season cotton. Furthermore, the significance and application of short-season cotton is discussed in relation to optimizing planting patterns and methods, promoting its cultivation in saline fields, developing machine-harvested cotton, and encouraging plastic mulch-free cotton planting. Based on these analyses and discussions, the paper proposes future strategies aimed at enhancing the breeding and cultivation of short-season cotton. These findings serve as valuable references for global breeding and cultivation research, and application of short-season cotton in the future