Despite inadequate rainfall and poor cultivation, the cotton output in Gujarat was unlikely to be affected as the yield per plant was expected to increase in the current kharif season, a leading cotton trader said.
During the current season, the area under the cotton crop is 1.4 million hectares, down from 1.6 million hectares in the previous season. Cotton has been sown on a large scale in the Bharuch-Vadodara belt, the Ahmedabad-Rajkot belt and the Surendranaagar-Vakaner-Morbi-Anjar belt, and in the districts of Amreli and Jamnagar.
The standing crop in Botad, Amreli and Bhavnagar is in excellent condition, while it is fairly good in Mahuva, Talaja, Una and Jasdan. The cotton plants have reached a height of about 1.5-2 feet and flowering has started in most parts of the region. In regions the plants are also carrying fruits. The number of fruits on the plants is more than the previous year. The cotton yield per acre is expected to touch around 65-70 mound during the current season against the normal yield of 35-40 mound per acre.
The poor rainfall has, in fact, retarded the growth of pests due to limited availability of water, which resulted in healthy growth of the cotton plants in most of the areas. The new crop arrivals may start from October 15 onwards and might continue till the end of December, because the sowing of seeds was late in some parts of the state.