Generally speaking, cotton that is grown without the use of insecticide, pesticide or chemical fertilizers is called organic cotton. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), pesticide poisoning is the reason for 20,000 thousand deaths in developing countries every year and a large number of these are from cotton farming. Organic cotton production involves the use of environment friendly methods. It is also economical, and socially sustainable (citation needed) and does not use agrochemicals and artificial fertilizers. What organic agriculture uses is crop rotation, the growing of different crops than cotton in alternative years. Organic agriculture uses natural enemies to suppress harmful insects instead of spraying the cotton with pesticides.
Production of organic cotton takes place in agricultural systems that are organic. In such organic systems establishes standards for the production of food and fiber are present. Organic agriculture does not allow the use of toxic and persistent chemical pesticides and fertilizers, as well as organisms that are genetically modified.
The building of systems that have biological diversity, replenishing and maintaning fertility of the soil, and the promotion a healthy environment are the main objectives of an organic agricultural system like organic cotton farming. It is more expensive to produce. Organic cotton production is more expensive than usual methods. Synthetic chemicals are not used, so pollution caused due to them is eliminated, but other issues, run-off in particular and additional use of fossil fuels may still be present.
In order to cultivate cotton there is a requirement of a long period of time with frost, lot of sunshine, and a moderate rainfall, usually from 600 to 1200 mm. Fairly heavy soils is also a requirement, although the soil does not need to be rich in nutrients. These conditions are generally present within the seasonally dry tropics and subtropics in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, but a large percentage of the cotton that we use today is grown in areas with less rainfall that obtain the water from irrigation.
For a given year, production of the crop usually starts soon after harvesting the preceding autumn. In the Northern hemisphere spring planting time varies from the beginning of February to the beginning of June. The South Plains in the USA is the largest contiguous cotton-growing region in the world. The rainfall is not sufficient and it is heavily dependent on irrigation water drawn from the Ogallala Aquifer.
Cotton requires a lot of water to grow, and as water resources shrink around the world, economies that depend on it face difficulties and conflict, and also potential environmental problems. For example, the cultivation of cotton has led to desertification in areas of Uzbekistan, a country which relies heavily on cotton export.
Organic cultivation includes employment of low influence plantation methods to produce quality cotton bolls with improved agricultural methods. Cotton cultivation requires employment of crop rotation techniques in order to retain the nutrients level essential for growth of cotton. Weed management should be also adopted in order to have efficient growth of cotton.
Organic cotton cultivation may yield certain implied level of care to be taken by cultivators. The organic cultivation of crops can be streamlined by certain guidelines levied. Also these guidelines can propagate the organic cultivation of crops from labor dependent to rationally feasible type of cultivation. Organic cotton production includes fulfillment of the entire practice by a recognized certifying organization. Also the nutrient levels to be maintained as prescribed by the standards involving better use of organic fertilizers. There are certain essential cultivation requirements to be fulfilled by the farmers in order to have better growth of cotton crops. This can be an essential criterion to be meted out by farmers.
Several essential cultivation procedures in organic cotton production
organic cotton in basket
- Fertility maintenance techniques
Fertility of soil plays a major role in the cultivation of crops. Planting other crops such as soybeans can maintain the optimum level of nutrients to remain intact. Also the use of organic fertilizers is advisable to make soil to remain unchanged in pH levels. Use of leguminous plants can retain the nitrogen content of soil for long duration of time. Also animal manure is used to promote fertility in soil for efficient growth of cotton.
- Weed management procedure
Weeds pose greater threat to the growth of cotton crops. Weed management plays a major role in the cotton cultivation. Also it can be deciding factor for the price that is offered to the cotton bolls produced. Flame weeding technique can be employed to initiate better weed management in the cotton cultivation fields. By using sophisticated tools such as precision tillage tools, one can eliminate weeds.
Pests are generally imposing serious danger to the quality of cotton produced. Also the development of variety of pest control techniques one can initiate better quality of cotton bolls to be produced. Strip cropping can be employed in order to have better pest control over the cotton bolls. Also use of bio-pesticides is recommended to keep away dangerous pests. Some farmers insist using insecticide soaps to prevent pest to certain appreciable levels. This is proved worldwide among all cotton producing countries.
Eco-awareness and an increased demand for safer products continues to spread in the global marketplace, which could very well be why organic cotton is currently enjoying its well-deserved time in the limelight. Whether we slide underneath cozy organic cotton bed sheets, wrap ourselves in a downy-soft organic cotton bath towel or try on a simple organic t-shirt for size, the opportunities that today’s modern consumer has to purchase certified organic products has grown in leaps and bounds. They say that numbers don’t lie, a claim made even more concrete by the fact that global organic cotton sales in the retail market, which hovered at $1.9 billion back in the year 2007, climbed to $3.2 billion just one year later. As mainstream retailers such as Target, Wal-Mart and H&M hop on the organic cotton textile products bandwagon, global efforts to generate certified organic cotton crops will undoubtedly follow suit. [click to continue…]
For every destructive insect invader, there seems to be an equally motivated buggy defender prepared to rise up and turn the tide in favor of a crop’s survival. One can’t help but wonder why commercial farmers fail to rely exclusively on this built-in system of checks and balances – but then, the obvious comes into focus. Oh right…it all boils down to time and money. Mother Nature tends to take her sweet time restoring the natural order to a crop ecosystem, however, in our fast-paced society where livelihoods are contingent upon absolute guarantees of [click to continue…]
The history of cotton is deeply embedded within the fabric of our global society – in fact, a diverse tapestry of cultural textures can be unraveled at every turn. The incredibly practical material has made its way from the caves of Mexico and the river valleys of Egypt and Pakistan to multiple Asian civilizations and even into the New World, leaving nary a region untouched. As an indispensible vegetable fiber-producing crop, it has become as ubiquitous to humanity’s survival as water and food. It has woven its way into practically every corner of our lives to such a degree that the [click to continue…]
