Question

Describe the various stages in the cotton cultivation in India.

Answer 1

• First step is clearing of land for soil preparation and removal of weeds.
  
• Cotton seed is planted either manually or by machines.
  
• Full stand of cotton emerges in 11 days and has to be protected from attack of diseases. Proper fertilizers and irrigation has to be provided.
  
• Flower buds begin to produce after 6 weeks and after it falls off, the pod appears which is also called as cotton boll.
  
• Boll matures in 55 to 80 days and produces fibres from the pods which continues to grow.
  
• At this point leaves are removed from the cotton plant.
  
• Next step is harvesting which can be done manually or by machines like pickers and strippers. The picker system uses wind and guides to pull the cotton from the plant, often leaving behind the leaves and rest of the plant. The stripper system chops the plant and uses air to separate the trash from the cotton.
  
• The cotton is cleaned to separate dirt, seeds, and short lint from the cotton.
  
• Cleaned and deseeded cotton is compresses for economical storage for further processing and transportation.