In mid-July, cotton topping work has been completed in many places in Xinjiang, and the peak period of boll formation has gradually entered. It is understood that Xinjiang’s Shaya region has more sunny and good weather this year, and cotton growth is faster than the same period in previous years.
A local cotton farmer said that he planted about 700 acres of cotton last year, all on his own land. Due to the high income from planting, he contracted another 2,300 acres of land this year (the contracting fee was 980 yuan/acre). Among them, there are 1,800 acres of cotton and 500 acres of wheat. So far, the topping work of the cotton grown by this cotton farmer has been completed. The cotton plant height is 80-90 centimeters, there are 7-8 peaches, and about 10 bolls. The growth progress is faster than the same period last year. In addition, due to the increase in land rent and fertilizer prices this year, the cotton farmer’s cotton planting costs have also increased this year. Among them, the cost of cotton planting on contracted land is expected to be 3,000 yuan/mu, and the cost of self-owned land is 2,100 yuan/mu, an average increase of about 1,500 yuan/mu from last year.
Due to the high local weather this year, cotton growth is faster than last year. However, high temperature weather has led to frequent insect pests, mostly cotton bollworms. In order to ensure the normal growth of cotton, local cotton farmers will spray pesticides on cotton fields in the near future, mainly using drones. Because drone spraying is not only low-cost, but also does not affect other tasks such as cotton field irrigation. If there are no adverse weather effects in the later period, this year’s output may be around 440 kilograms, an increase of 40 kilograms from last year.
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