SUSTAINABLE COTTON PRODUCTION UNDER CLCuD THREAT.

The incidence of Cotton Leaf Curl Disease (CLCuD) and low crop stand are major impediments to sustainable cotton production in Pakistan. Early sowing provides protection against CLCuD but causes low seed germination. Early cotton planting overlaps with wheat harvesting, thus causing conflict with Wheat-Cotton-Wheat cropping pattern. To address these problems and suggest improvements, a series of field experiments was conducted to optimize cotton planting technology. Three sowing methods viz., transplanting cotton nursery in May, direct seeding in March, and direct seeding in May were compared for physiological indices, CLCuD incident and yield of seed cotton. For the production of seedlings, four nursery media were evaluated for their efficiency in terms of germination percentage, seedling survival, and convalescent period. On the basis of these parameters, SSM (Soil+Sand+Manure) media produced better seedlings. The early sown (transplanted) cotton gave good escape from CLCuD. The maximum incidence was observed in May sowing (22.2%) while the severity was maximum in the month of August. Maximum seed cotton yield was recorded in March sown-transplanted cotton. Income generated from March sowing was more than transplanting due to labor cost in transplanted cotton. The income from transplanted cotton was 60% more than the May sowing, on account of better production due to improved crop stand, number of growing days and escape from CLCuD. Therefore, early planting of cotton through seedlings transplantation is suggested to improve cotton production through better crop stand and escape from CLCuD in a cotton-wheat production cropping system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]