Cotton Defoliation – An Important Agronomic Practice

      Cotton defoliation is considered one of the crucial tasks. By performing defoliation on time and with quality, the growth and development of the cotton plant are accelerated, shedding of yield elements is reduced, the number of flowers and bolls increases, the negative impact of pests decreases, the maturity of the bolls is hastened by 5-10 days, and the yield per hectare increases from 3-4 centners to 6-8 centners.

Defoliation is carried out manually, with the help of machinery, or by using chemical preparations ("Sojean", "Entojean", "Dalpiks").

The process of defoliation enables the production of an early, abundant, and high-quality cotton yield, improving the effectiveness of defoliation.

Timely and quality defoliation leads to increased yield weight, improved quality, and early maturation. On the contrary, delays or poor-quality defoliation may lead to the following consequences:

• The stems grow vigorously and break;
• Cotton yield decreases by 15-20%;
• Maturity is delayed by 7-10 days;
• Bolls shrink and lose weight;
• The shell of the bolls thickens;
• More insects are attracted.