Industrial Cluster: Large-Scale Machine Picking Of New High-Yield Varieties Of Aksu Long Staple Cotton

It is also the cotton harvest season. In recent days, in the vast cotton fields around Aksu region, there are gratifying scenes of machines roaring to harvest cotton everywhere.

On October 31, in a cotton field in Kuoshkerek Village, Aybagh Town, Awati County, snow-white long staple cotton was endless. Only one large cotton picker shuttled back and forth. With the roar of the machine, white velvet cotton was quickly "eaten" into the cotton picker.

"This year I planted a new variety of Xinjiang long staple cotton, 'Xin78'. Through scientific field management, long staple cotton is growing well and has many peaches, with an output of 450 kg per mu." Chen Jingzhong, a cotton farmer, said happily.

Chen Jingzhong is a large cotton planter in the village, with 20 years of cotton planting experience. His family planted more than 200 mu of cotton. Different from previous years, this year he adopted the Xinjiang long staple cotton new variety "Xin78" and the machine picking planting mode, which made him happy. The per mu cotton yield exceeded the previous highest, and the net harvest rate of long staple cotton reached 95%.

When it comes to "New 78", it is necessary to mention the Economic Crops Research Institute of Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences. "New 78" is the achievement of the Institute in the past 10 years. This variety is bred by cross breeding of long staple cotton "Xinhai 24" X352 line, with a growth period of about 130 days, a single boll weight of about 3.2g, smooth and concentrated boll opening, strong impact resistance, and suitable for mechanical harvesting.

Chen Jingzhong said that the machine picking of long staple cotton was something he dared not think about in the past. It takes at least 20 workers 2 months to harvest his 200 mu long staple cotton manually. Now, mechanical harvesting can be completed in one day, which saves time and labor.

The planting of new varieties of long staple cotton has achieved high yield and mechanized harvesting, which benefits from the construction and quality improvement of high-quality cotton bases in 2023 launched by the region this year. This action continues to optimize the regional layout and variety structure of cotton, vigorously promote the "packing" cotton picker and long staple cotton picker, comprehensively implement the key technologies such as "dry sowing and wet production", efficient water-saving, and high-yield creation, promote the stable production, quality and efficiency of cotton industry, further consolidate the dominant position of high-quality cotton production base in the region, and ensure the sustainable and healthy development of cotton industry.

Statistics show that 513000 mu of long staple cotton will be planted across the region this year. As the national production base of high-quality long staple cotton, Awati County will plant 182000 mu of long staple cotton this year, of which 86000 mu will use the new variety "Xin78", and all of them will adopt the machine picking planting mode.

Sun Jigui, secretary of the Party branch of Awati County Seed Industry Development Center, introduced that after two years of experimental planting, it was confirmed that Xinjiang's new long staple cotton variety "Xin78" was suitable for local planting, which was not only high in yield and quality, but also more suitable for machine picking. The county will strengthen the promotion of planting and gradually eliminate the backward hand picked long staple cotton varieties.

At present, it is the critical period for cotton harvesting. In order to catch the sunny weather, large cotton pickers are used to harvest new varieties of Xinjiang long staple cotton. Where the cotton pickers pass, the cotton buds are harvested in the warehouse. Field yield measurement shows that Xinjiang's new long staple cotton variety "Xin78" has a yield of 450-500kg per mu, and the mechanized recovery rate of long staple cotton is 50%, and the net recovery rate is 95%.