After a bumper year, Akola cotton farmers brace for losses of up to 70% as plants wilt

Akola: Cotton growers in the district, who got around ₹8,000 a quintal at the CCI rate last season and up to ₹10,000 by holding their stock until August, now fear losses of up to 70 per cent, as a prolonged dry spell and rising temperatures have badly hit the crop.

In a normal year, traditional cultivation can yield up to eight quintals an acre and the high-density planting system (HDPS), or 'Akola model', 12 to 18 quintals. This season cotton plants have not grown even five feet tall, and premature bursting of bolls is raising worries about both yield and fibre quality. With soil moisture gone, leaves, flowers and young bolls are drying up and dropping, farmers say.

Dilip Thakre, an early adopter of HDPS, expects only two to four quintals an acre this year; the Akola model may still do comparatively better because it has more plants an acre, but that crop too is in poor shape, he said, adding that his saline belt has had no rain for about 70 days. Other growers said the dry spell had brought pest attacks and repeated spraying, pushing up costs and leaving them struggling to meet household expenses.

Source: The Times of India