Though high-density cotton planting has taken root, its adoption has been slow. Rasi Seeds, one of the top cotton seed players in the country, has joined hands with Cotton Inc. of the US to cut the adoption process short.

Rasi Seeds has teamed up with Kater Hake, international cotton expert and Vice-President of Agricultural and Environmental Research at Cotton Incorporated, to study the current agronomic practices and increase the rate of adoption of the HDPS, which promises to increase the yields up to 30-40 per cent.

Despite India’s cotton acreage being the biggest in the world, its productivity is very low, ranking 44 globally, leaving a huge scope for growth.

Learning more

M Ramasami, Chairman of Rasi Seeds, and Kater Hake met Telangana Agriculture Minister Niranjan Reddy and other top government officials and discussed the issues and opportunities involved in the HDPS way of growing cotton. “The Telangana Government got to know that we are doing pilot HDPS plantations and invited us a few months ago to learn more about the HDPS. Today, we gave them a detailed presentation,” Ramasami told businessline, after the meeting with the State Government officials.

“In order to increase the productivity gains of the State and ensure cotton growers continue to make big strides, HDPS should be replicated on a wide scale,” he said.

Telangana, the third largest cotton producer in the country after Gujarat and Maharashtra, grew cotton on 20 lakh hectares last year and is expected to retain the same acreage in the ongoing kharif season.

Offers promise

“HDPS offers promise as the cost of production doesn’t go up proportionately as we increase the number of cotton plants by three times to 24,000 from the present 8,000 plants. It helps plants grow at a uniform height, making it easy for farmers to harvest using machines,” S Niranjan Reddy said.

“By optimising plant density and land use, HDPS paves the way for higher cotton productivity,” he said.

“The integration of precision agriculture and genetic innovations holds incredible potential in amplifying farmers’ earnings and ensuring the optimal growth of cotton plants,” Hake said.

Telangana is carrying out experiments in HDPS by promoting the method in about 4,000 hectares this year. “We have plans to significantly increase the HDPS acreage in phases,” Niranjan Reddy said.

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