How to Plant & Grow Cotton

Fully mature cotton bolls are white and fluffy.

Cotton, grown in warm, Southern states from Virginia to California (known as the Cotton Belt), is a perennial plant grown as an annual. Cotton's main growing requirement is a long, warm growing season of 160 to 180 frost-free days. Used for more than just making fluffy towels and T-shirts, cotton supplies materials for mattresses, paper, plastic, salad dressing, and even explosives.

Things You'll Need

• Compost or manure
• Shovel
• Rake
• Thermometer
• Sprinkler or hose
• Cotton seed
• Fertilizer
• Pesticide (carbonyl or malathion)

Instructions

Planting

1. Spread a layer of organic material like compost or manure on the soil at a rate of 40 lbs. per every 100 feet. Hand dig with a shovel or till the soil to a depth of 6 inches, removing weeds and rocks. Rake to level the soil. Cotton can't tolerate heavy, saturated soils. Adding plenty of organic material aids drainage.

2. 

   Water cotton only six to eight times during the growing season.

   Water the soil with a sprinkler until thoroughly wet 4 to 6 inches down (typically about 30 minutes). The cotton won't be watered again until after it has germinated, so make sure the soil is adequately moist before planting.

3. Place a thermometer in the soil. Plant cotton when the soil temperature is above 60 degrees and all risk of frost is past.

4. Hoe a long, straight furrow 1 inch deep in the soil. Plant cotton seeds in groups of three, with 4 inches between each seed grouping. Cover the seeds with soil and pat down. Plant rows 2 feet apart.

Growing

1. 

   Pull weeds frequently when the cotton is young.

   Pull weeds two to three times per week in the first six weeks of growing. Cotton germinates in about five to 10 days but grows slowly. Weeds compete for nutrients and water and will crowd out young plants. When the plants are bigger, weeding is not so important, as the tall plants overpower most weeds.

2. Irrigate every five to 10 days during the flowering and bolling stage. Cotton uses water very efficiently. Many farmers in the Southeastern United States rely solely on rain for irrigation, but if you live in the West, you'll need to water (put your finger in the soil to test the moisture level; it should be moist 4 to 6 inches down). Irrigate so soil is thoroughly moistened to a depth of 6 inches.

3. Apply a granular fertilizer high in nitrogen and phosphorus (20-18) during flowering. Spread the granular fertilizer around the plants according to package directions and hoe in lightly. Take care not to get fertilizer on the cotton plants. Water the soil for 20 minutes to activate the fertilizer.

4. Control insects. Cotton plants are vulnerable to many pests. Spray cotton aphids and jassids with malathion; use carbonyl to control spotted boll worm. Many farmers also introduce beneficial insects into the crop to eliminate pests.

5. 

   Hand pick mature cotton.

   Harvest cotton. Creamy to yellow flowers appear nine to 12 weeks after planting. The flowers turn red and drop, leaving behind a cotton boll. Ten weeks after flowering, the boll splits open. The raw cotton dries and withers in the sun. Handpick mature, dry cotton. Do not water during harvest season.

Tips & Warnings

• Large cotton operations use machinery for both the planting and harvesting phases of cotton production.

• Cotton is prickly. Wear gloves when harvesting the bolls.

References

• CurlBros: Cotton
• Cotton Counts: Planting and Production
• MRC Seeds: Cotton Production
• Cotton Counts: The Importance of Cotton
• Cotton Counts: Weed Control and Pest Management

Resources

• Cotton Counts: The Story of Cotton