Abstract
The incidence of Cotton Leaf Curl Disease (CLCuD) and low crop stand are major impediments to sustainable cotton
production in Pakistan. Early sowing provides protection against CLCuD but causes low seed germination. Early cotton
planting overlaps with wheat harvesting, thus causing conflict with Wheat-Cotton-Wheat cropping pattern. To address these
problems and suggest improvements, a series of field experiments was conducted to optimize cotton planting technology. Three
sowing methods viz., transplanting cotton nursery in May, direct seeding in March, and direct seeding in May were compared
for physiological indices, CLCuD incident and yield of seed cotton. For the production of seedlings, four nursery media were
evaluated for their efficiency in terms of germination percentage, seedling survival, and convalescent period. On the basis of
these parameters, SSM (Soil+Sand+Manure) media produced better seedlings. The early sown (transplanted) cotton gave good
escape from CLCuD. The maximum incidence was observed in May sowing (22.2%) while the severity was maximum in the
month of August. Maximum seed cotton yield was recorded in March sown-transplanted cotton. Income generated from March
sowing was more than transplanting due to labor cost in transplanted cotton. The income from transplanted cotton was 60%
more than the May sowing, on account of better production due to improved crop stand, number of growing days and escape
from CLCuD. Therefore, early planting of cotton through seedlings transplantation is suggested to improve cotton production
through better crop stand and escape from CLCuD in a cotton-wheat production cropping system.
Keywords: cropping system, cotton transplanting, cost of production, sowing media
