Guide de culture du Cotton

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.