Monsoon break and long dry spell stressing cotton in Marathwada. How to keep the crop alive.
How to manage cotton crop during a long dry spell in Marathwada?
KKailas Deshmukh8 महीने पहले · 291 व्यू
5 जवाब
🌾Farmer.in Krishi Teamविशेषज्ञ ✓8 महीने पहले
During a monsoon break the priority is to conserve soil moisture and give protective irrigation at critical stages of cotton. Open furrows or do dora between rows to break the surface and conserve sub soil moisture, mulch with residue to cut evaporation, and remove weeds that compete for the little water left. If you have a farm pond or any water source, give one protective irrigation at squaring, flowering or boll formation, which are the most sensitive stages. A potassium foliar spray helps the plant handle stress. Avoid heavy nitrogen during the dry spell. Follow the agromet advisory for when the rains return so you resume operations at the right time. In drought prone Marathwada, farm ponds and weather based crop insurance are your safety net.
GGanpat Pawar8 महीने पहले
Dora between the rows really holds moisture in the dry break. The field I did dora stayed greener than the one I left alone.
NNamdev Jadhav7 महीने पहले
One protective watering from my farm pond at flowering saved my cotton in the long August gap. Without water source the crop just wilts here.
SSandeep Munde7 महीने पहले
I sprayed potassium during the stress as KVK said and the crop held up better. Also keep the field weed free, weeds drink the little moisture.
BBhaskar Shinde7 महीने पहले
Mulching with the previous crop residue between rows kept my soil from baking and cracking in the gap. Less moisture escaped from the cracks, and the topsoil stayed workable when rain finally returned.