Assam Comilla (7-8 micronaire) / Bengal desi (6.8 to 7.2 micronaire) cottons are only exported by leading international brands however, uses high micronaire, very coarse for surgical cotton production due to very few neps formed during processing (Cotton Inc, 2012). Assam Comilla cotton is traded much below the Minimum support price mainly because of absence of procurement centres of cotton by Cotton Corporation of India in north-eastern states (CCI, 2015).  Bengal desi (G. arboreum cernum) cotton having big bolls produced in mixed cropping situations under pesticide free environment in north east dominating with Meghalaya, Assam, Mizoram and Tripura, in Jhum cultivation is unaffected by Bt hybrid cotton invasion. Now it is economical to procure and gin from north east and transport at lower price to destination by rail or shipping from Chittagong port in neighbouring Bangladesh. As the Govt of India policy to act east and spend 10% of its budget, Assam Comilla cotton cultivation can be encouraged with incentives which can lead to better employment generation and increase in farmers income. 

 

Similarly, Punasa cotton (G. arboreum indicum) from north coastal Andhra Pradesh state, India, is also suitably available for export quality surgical cotton. However, commercial exploitation of these land races outside their home of production is subjected to the laws of the recently created National Biodiversity Authority of India (NBDAI). A possible way out is to procure cotton lint  from the natural home of their production, ginning and crushing the seeds for oil onsite through one step by middle men which can reduce transportation cost by 65%.  On farm trials were conducted by the authors under ICAR-world Bank funded National Agriculture Technology Project, Rainfed cotton Production System (RCPS-9) titled ‘Development and evaluation of Technologies for Indigenous cottons’’ in North east region.  Agro economical study was conducted on G. arboreum cotton production sites which were extrapolated to current US $ prices for benefit of farmers, policy makers and young entrepreneurs to identify the optimum surgical cotton varieties,   location and prices.

 

Experimental site character

 

G. arboreum cotton was commercially grown (2000-2004) on or before large scale expansion of Bt hybrid cotton were selected for this study.

 

Adilabad (AP), India

 

Experiments were conducted in Gaorani cotton tract at Agricultural Research station, Mudhol (18 58° 77 55° E) of Professor Jaishankar Telangana State Agricultural University, in Adilabad district of Telangana state, India.

This site had both shallow red soils and medium deep gravelly vertisols. Normal annual rainfall of the district was 1045 mm.

 

Srikakulam (A.P)

 

On farm trials were also conducted at villages in Ponduru, Amudalavalsa, Srikakulam (18°-20’ and 19°-10’ N and 83°-50’ and 84°-50’ E) district in north coastal Andhra Pradesh of south eastern India with 900 and  150 mm SW and NE monsoon.

 

Diphu Assam

 

Onfarm trials were also conducted in Karbi Anglong district of Assam state, in north east India. The soils were sandy loams with steep slopes with 765 and  250 mm SW and NE monsoon.

Seeds were planted at the experimental sites at 0.6 m x 0.30 m plant spacing in Adilabad and broadcasted in green gram on farm trials in Jhum cultivation at Diphu (Assam), India. Punasa cotton is often broadcasted as annual crop in the back yards of weavers along the coast line in red lateritic and  coastal sandy loam soils without any fertilizers and manures. Hill / red cotton however, dibbled in groundnut / green gram mixed cropping at 1x1 m a part. Hill cotton is often ratooned with a higher yields and earliness besides drought mitigation at Srikakulam. Fertilizer dose of 60:30:30 kg ha^-1 N: P₂O₅: K₂O were applied only at Adilabad. Topdressing of N: K₂O fertilizers 29:38 kg ha^-1 with September rains after harvest of legume mixed crop at Srikakulam. There is no fertilizer/ pesticides supply in north eastern India, the crop was grown by default as organic under Jhum (slash and burn) cultivation at Diphu, Assam, India. Crop was harvested at the maturity weighed and calculated per unit area. Need based plant protection measures were followed in Adilabad and Srikakulam sites as per the requirement. Micronaire was analysed by HVI instrument at ICAR- Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology (CIRCOT) Mumbai, Ginning Training Centre (GTC), Nagpur. Fish jaw combing is a local practice at Srikakulam for cleaning cotton, removing short fibres besides ginning by jerk on a wooden board with ruler and bow for opening cotton before chording. 

 

 

Ponduru cotton production systems

 

Punasa cotton (Table 2) is predominantly cultivated only as pure crop in coastal sandy clay loam soils. This area is controlled by Srikakulam Fine Khadi Society located behind court complex with its retail outlets located in Srikakulam town and villages. Limited extent of red cotton is also grown by them under high rainfall area. The farmers economy is maintained with high plant density usually grown as back yard crop in red, sandy loams and black soils for ready to spin into yarn by rural women. Punasa cotton is suitable as direct introduction in to surgical cotton cultivation with minimal care. N fertilizers application of 58 kg ha^-1and advance payments will be more useful under contract farming. These soils also need N K fertilizer application at least as top dressing for reasonable profit of US $ 1000 ha^-1for Punasa seed cotton and red cotton ratoon (Tables 3 and 4).

 

 

 

Red soils

 

Red and hill cottons are predominantly cultivated as mixed crops and often ratooned to face the competition from mixed ground nut / sesame / green gram and black gram. Absence of basal fertilizer application, inter-cultures operations, rain water conservation harvesting and recycling as supplemental irrigations besides grey mildew control measures are constraints in cotton production. Small boll size (2 g) and large number of bolls (400 plant^-1) requires frequent pickings by family labour. Animal pennings for 3-4 days and application FYM are only avenues to maintain soil fertility, besides top dressing of 23:58:75 N:P₂O₅:K₂O application after September rains or after harvest of mixed crop is a local practice due to fear of competition. Top dressing urea found to be very effective under poor N supply. Grey mildew damage is very severe after August rains for ratoon cotton besides occasional losses from boll worms. Ratoon crop matures earlier and produces more than seed crop which has to survive in severe summers. Beheading of cotton leaving one feet height was found superior instead of re sprouting the entire plant. Poor plant stand is also a yield constraint some times gaps filled with seeds. Very high expenditure on manual hoeing and hand weedings can pave way for post emergence herbicides reducing cost of production (Tables 5 and 6). Soils were deficient in potassium and responded well to NK topdressing in September after harvest of legume crop.

 

 

 

Medium black soils

 

Ratooning is producing more than seed crop. Plant stand of ratoon crop is sufficient but difficult to maintain under severe summer in the absence of irrigations. Lower moisture holding capacity of the soils, boll worms damage and grey mildew are limitations which need attention (Table 7).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The authors have not declared any conflict of interest.

Funds for the research were provided by Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi through World Bank loan under National Agriculture Technology Project, Rainfed cotton Production System (RCPS-9) titled ‘Development and evaluation of Technologies for Indigenous cottons’’ in North east region. Fibre properties were analysed by GTC, CIRCOT, Grama Swarajya Sangham, Ponduru, Srikakulam Fine Khadi, RARS, Diphu, ARS, Mudhol, ANGRAU staff services are duly acknowledged.