Advances and Prospects of High-Yielding and Simplified Cotton Cultivation Technology in Xinjiang Cotton-Growing Area
In the past 20 years, cotton production in Xinjiang has developed considerably through a series of technological strategies such as "exploration of heat potential via earliness-stimulating cultivation", "exploration of solar radiation potential via dense and dwarf planting", "improvement of water and fertilizer use efficiency via fertigation", and improvement of net returns with convenient and simplified cultivation through the integration of agronomic techniques and mechanization. These strategies have considerably reduced labor input by reliance on mechanization rather than manual operations, precision seeding after plastic mulching, simplified plant pruning and synchronized harvesting achieved through rational and high plant density combined with chemical regulation, and improvements in yield and net returns through water-saving irrigation techniques and fertigation. The efficient use of key agronomic techniques and related materials and machinery ensures not only a high or super-high yield, but also a convenient and simplified management, thus resolving the contradiction between high yield and simplification in Xinjiang. The northwest inland of which Xinjiang is the main region has become the country's largest cotton-producing region with the highest average unit yield. To ensure continued high yield and efficiency of cotton production in the future, the cultivation strategy should also advance with the times. On the one hand, it should evolve from achieving high yield and benefits of cotton by exploration of heat and water potential to achieving high yield, fine quality and high net returns by exploitation of the light potential, fertigation, and integration of agronomic techniques and mechanization; on the other hand, in order to achieve simplified management of cotton, the traditional cultivation and management with "30% input to seeding and 70% to field management after seeding" should be changed to that with "70% input to seeding and 30% to field management after seeding". To simultaneously improve cotton yield and quality, it is important to ensure a high photosynthetic efficiency population through comprehensive regulation of cotton plants. More attention should be paid to seed quality and seeding, and thus to further save costs and increase economic benefits by reducing management processes in cotton production. Studies on mechanisms for achieving simplified cultivation with high economic benefits of cotton in Xinjiang should be strengthened to lay a theoretical foundation for sustainable production.
Xinjiangcottonhigh yielding and simplification cultivationtechnical strategy