Jul 15, 2010
Early Maturing Cotton Shows Promise in Mato Grosso
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Initial yield results of cotton being harvested in Mato Grosso indicate that short-stature early maturing cotton could be a viable alternative to traditional cotton production in the state. Short stature cotton is planted in narrow rows, 45 cm (18 inches), compared to traditional cotton which is planted in 76 to 90 cm row spacing (30 to 36 inch rows). It is shorter in height than traditional cotton and it matures in 170 days compared to 210 days for traditional cotton.
The advantage of this type of cotton is that it is cheaper to produce because it requires fewer insecticide applications and since it has a shorter maturity; it can be planted after soybeans are harvested. This allows farmers to get two crops per year from the same field. Soybeans in Mato Grosso are usually planted starting in the second half of September. These early planted soybeans are then harvested generally in January or early February. The early maturing cotton can then be planted following the soybean harvest and still allow enough time for the cotton to mature before the rainy season ends. Traditional cotton varieties with their longer maturities must be planted in December or very early January to allow enough time for the crop to mature.
One problem with planting these new cotton varieties is that there are not enough cotton harvesters set up to harvest narrow row cotton. In order to harvest this new type of cotton, traditional cotton harvesters must be modified to accommodate the more narrow rows and the shorter height of the cotton.
During the 2009/10 growing season, there was an estimated 52,000 hectares of this type of cotton grown in the state, which is ten times more than what was planted during the previous growing season. While increasing, this is still a small acreage compared to the traditional cotton which is planted on more than 400,000 hectares in the state.