en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Indian government is advancing cotton production enhancement in mission mode, targeting an increase in cotton lint yield from approximately 440 kg per hectare to 755 kg per hectare by 2031, a rise of about 72%. Cotton is a vital cash crop in India, directly supporting the livelihoods of around 6 million farmers, with a national cultivation area exceeding 12 million hectares, yet yields remain below global benchmarks. Achieving this target requires coordinated efforts across multiple fronts, including breeding stress-tolerant varieties, technology-driven cultivation methods, and timely weed management.
Weeds are one of the key factors contributing to India's low cotton yields. Research shows that weeds can reduce cotton production by 40% to 85%, while also consuming half of the fertilizer applied and 40% of soil moisture. Weeds begin competing with the crop almost immediately after sowing, and cotton's wide row spacing and slow early growth make it highly vulnerable to weed pressure during root establishment. If left uncontrolled during germination and seedling stages, poor plant establishment will directly impact subsequent yields.
Climate change is intensifying this challenge. In major cotton-growing regions such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana, erratic monsoons bring prolonged droughts, sudden heavy rainfall, and untimely showers, creating conditions conducive to weed proliferation. Cotton is highly sensitive to waterlogging and climate stress, and excess moisture further amplifies weed competition effects during the crop's most vulnerable stages. Recent reports indicate that nearly 80% of marginal farmers in India have suffered crop losses over the past five years due to adverse climatic events such as drought, abnormal rainfall, or early monsoon withdrawal.
Weed management also imposes a direct financial burden on farmers. Manual weeding is the second most labor-intensive operation in Indian cotton cultivation, requiring up to 33 person-days per hectare, with costs potentially exceeding 6,000 rupees, accounting for approximately 18.45% of total cultivation costs. Therefore, early weed control is prioritized—establishing a 25 to 30-day weed-free window during cotton's most vulnerable growth phase helps seedlings develop stronger root systems and more uniform growth, while preventing farmers' upfront investments in seeds, fertilizers, labor, and irrigation from being lost to weed damage.
At the agronomic level, several measures can reduce early weed infestation. Deep plowing can eliminate weed seeds, and clearing previous crop residues can prevent weeds from carrying over into the next cropping cycle; soil testing helps predict weed pressure, and crop rotation can interrupt weed and pest life cycles; mulching with organic materials such as crop residues suppresses weeds, stabilizes soil temperature, and reduces soil erosion from heavy rainfall. Precision agriculture tools are also being deployed: drip irrigation delivers water and nutrients directly to the cotton root zone, limiting weed access to moisture, while fertigation improves input use efficiency; drone-based weed mapping can establish field information databases, enabling farmers to observe emergence patterns, soil moisture, and weed occurrence at early stages and make timely decisions.
On the chemical front, farmers can adopt broad-spectrum herbicide programs, such as combining Quizalofop-ethyl with Pyrithiobac Sodium, which are effective against both narrow-leaved (grass) and broad-leaved weeds, reducing the need for repeated late-season treatments. In practice, following the correct product, dosage, timing, and application methods can avoid adding extra stress to the crop. Integrating traditional cultivation practices, modern crop care programs, and precision agriculture tools such as drone spraying, weed mapping, and targeted application into comprehensive crop management represents one pathway to support India's goal of raising cotton lint yield from 440 kg to 755 kg per hectare by 2031.
