The Punjab agriculture department advised the farmers to accelerate early cotton cultivation in suitable districts, including Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan, to complete sowing by March 31 to ensure higher productivity and better crop management.
According to a spokesman for the agriculture department, these districts offer favorable climatic and soil conditions for early cotton cultivation which plays a crucial role in achieving better yield, stronger plant growth and improved resistance against pests and environmental stress.
He recommended that the farmers should cultivate approved triple-gene cotton varieties to obtain optimal results. These varieties include CKC-1, CKC-3, Hattf-3, ICS-386, CKC-6 and CEMB-AAS-3, which have been developed to provide high resistance against pests and support bumper production potential.
He stressed that the farmers must ensure the authenticity and quality of the seed before purchasing it from the market. The growers were advised to confirm that the seed is certified by the Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department and belongs to genuine triple-gene varieties as uncertified or substandard seed can severely affect crop growth and yield, he added.
He emphasized that early sowing of cotton not only strengthens the crop during its initial growth stages but also enables plants to mature before the peak season of pest attacks particularly the pink bollworm, which has caused significant damage to cotton crops in recent years. He further advised the farmers to maintain proper plant spacing to ensure healthy crop development. For early cotton cultivation, the recommended distance between rows should be 2.5 feet while the spacing between plants should be maintained between 1.5 and 2 feet to allow adequate sunlight, airflow and nutrient availability for each plant, he added. He also guided about seed quantity requirements based on germination rates and said that for seed with more than 75 percent germination, the growers should use approximately four to five kilograms (kg) delinted seed per acre while seed with around 60 percent germination may require five to six