Cotton body to reorient research to tackle fall in yield

The country's cotton yield is far lower than global average despite its emergence as a major cotton producing nation. The per hectare productivity is as low as 475 kg compared with Brazil's 2,027 kg, China's 1,311 kg, the US' 945 kg, Uzbekistan's 859 kg and Pakistan's 684 kg.

It started to slide gradually from 566 kg/hec in 2007-08 to 522kg/hec the following year and further to 486 kg/hec in 2009, falling to 475 kg/hec in 2010-11.

Voicing concern over declining productivity, the Project Coordinator and Head of the Central Institute for Cotton Research in Coimbatore, Dr A. H. Prakash, told Business Line that the institute is in the process of reorienting its research programmes to address the emerging challenges.

He said that after the introduction of Bt hybrids in 2002, India's contribution to global cotton production increased from 14 per cent to over 20 per cent in 2007.

For five consecutive years after 2005, India harvested a record average of 300 lakh bales, beating the till then record of 165 lakh bales before the introduction of Bt.

Quality profile

The enhancement in yields has been primarily due to several technological changes since 2002, significantly related to the introduction of Bt hybrid, seed treatment and process, the feasible research outcome of the National Agricultural Technology Programme, the Technology Mission on Cotton, integrated pest and nutrient management techniques, and so on.

The factors responsible for the decline in yield levels included erratic rainfall and emerging biotic and abiotic stress. The quality profile of Indian cotton has also changed.

Long staple cotton, which constituted a mere 20 per cent of the total production in 2000, increased to 74 per cent of the total cotton produced in 2010 because of Bt hybrids.

The total area under G.barbadense , G.arboreum and G.herbaceum declined to 7 per cent in 2010. In the mid-1990s, the area under such cotton accounted for 6 per cent, 25 per cent and 13 per cent respectively of the total area.

“Besides protecting our desi cotton varieties, there is also an urgent need to improve the fibre quality parameters through identification of newer genotypes, developing genotypes for various staple qualities — both extra long staple and short-staple cottons and development of best crop management practices. We, at CICR are at it,” said Dr Prakash.

Desi varieties

The CICR head also pointed out that cotton farmers in Tamil Nadu are shifting to maize, as it was found to be more remunerative, apart from it being a crop of shorter durcation than cotton.

“The area under maize has increased from 95,000 hectares to around 1.02 lakh hectares in the State; but the shift is happening in the area under cotton in and around Coimbatore.'

Asked how CICR plans to enhance productivity, he said: “We are propagating high-density planting using our desi varieties. With high density planting techniques, farmers can improve the yield.”

“We are working on different transgenic (cotton) plants, pyramiding of genes such as tolerance to drought, inter-specific hybrids, hybrids equal to and even superior to Suvin. These efforts are underway, and at different evaluation levels at the All-India Coordinated Cotton Improvement Project (AICCIP). It may take some time, maybe a year or so,” he said.

The CICR is also taking up a project called ‘National Challenge Cotton Programme'. Through this programme, cotton researchers will disseminate to farmers how desi varieties can beat the Bt hybrid in yields. “Both the Government and ICAR have accepted our proposal,” Dr Prakash said

Because of Bt, there is a glut of the long-staple cotton varieties in the market, forcing the mill sector to import short-staple and medium-staple cotton, he said.

High density planting

Cotton scientists, who hitherto used to stress on plant spacing, are now propagating high density planting to improve the yield per hectare.

“The cotton scenario has changed in the last decade; this has compelled us also to incorporate some change in the cultivation practice, modifying the plant architecture and so on,” said Dr A.H. Prakash, Project Coordinator and Head at the Central Institute for Cotton Research in Coimbatore.

He said that the institute had field tested the high density planting strategy at its fields in Coimbatore, Nagpur and Sirsa. “We plan to take up high density planting on a large scale this year, basically in rainfed areas and in Maharashtra. We are looking at 1000-odd hectares in that belt,” he said.

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