Fiber & Crops· Gossypium hirsutum
Cotton Growing Guide
Major fiber crop grown in warm climates. Egyptian long-staple cotton is world-renowned.
How Long Does Cotton Take to Grow?
Cotton is typically ready to harvest about 150 days after planting.
FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Production: Crops and livestock products. Accessed on 13 October 2026. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL Licence: CC-BY-4.0.
Growing Conditions
Soil Requirements
Soil Type & pH
Best soil types: loam, clay loam, silt loam, black cotton soil
pH range: 6 - 7.5 (optimal: 6.8)
Drainage: good
Nutrient Needs (N-P-K)
Planting Guide
Yield & Economics
Common Pests & Diseases
Common Pests
- Boll weevil
- Cotton bollworm
- Whitefly
- Aphids
- Pink bollworm
- Thrips
Common Diseases
- Verticillium wilt
- Fusarium wilt
- Cotton root rot
- Bacterial blight
- Alternaria leaf spot
Use AI crop disease detection to identify issues early and prevent crop losses.
Growing Tips
Plant when soil temperature at 10 cm depth reaches 18°C for 3 consecutive days — cold soil causes poor stands and seedling disease.
Apply growth regulators (mepiquat chloride) at early bloom to control excessive vegetative growth — rank cotton wastes energy on leaves instead of bolls.
The first 3-4 weeks of flowering produce 60-70% of the final yield — protect this period aggressively from bollworm damage and water stress.
Use defoliants 7-10 days before harvest when 60-70% of bolls are open — green leaf trash reduces lint grade and gin efficiency.
Rotate cotton with corn or sorghum (non-host crops) to break Verticillium wilt and nematode cycles — avoid following cotton with cotton for more than 2 years.
Scout for bollworm eggs on terminal leaves weekly during squaring and flowering — treat at threshold (8-10 eggs per 100 plants) rather than calendar spraying.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Cotton take to grow?
Cotton typically takes 150 days from planting to harvest. Seeds germinate in about 7 days. The best planting season is spring.
What soil does Cotton need?
Cotton grows best in loam, clay loam, silt loam, black cotton soil soil with a pH of 6-7.5. Good drainage is required.
What temperature does Cotton need?
Cotton grows best at 25-35°C. Frost tolerance: none. Heat tolerance: high.
What is the expected yield for Cotton?
Across 85 countries with grounded data, reported national yields for Cotton range from 180 to 6,590 kg lint/hectare, with a median of 1,370. These are national statistics, not a best-case figure — an individual farm's yield depends on variety, climate, soil and management.
Where Is Cotton Grown?
Explore region-specific growing conditions, challenges, and practices.
Key Agronomy Terms
Core farming concepts, explained in plain language.
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