A SEED PRIMING AND FOLIAR NUTRITION PROGRAM FOR COTTON
Results in Increased Yield and Income for Growers

Cotton is one of China’s necessary cash crops, with a long growth cycle and a requirement for large amounts of fertiliser. RLF focuses on a good fertiliser program for cotton growers, and this has helped them improve their yield further. This too, effectively increases their income.

The RLF nutrition program consists of BSN Seed Priming fertiliser with ultra foliar Broadacre Plus, a broad spectrum foliar fertiliser containing 12 essential nutrients. It has been promoted in the cotton-growing areas for many years, and has effectively achieved regular seedling emergence, strong resistance to pests and diseases, increased yield and with it, greater income. It is highly praised by cotton growers.

A Success Story

Previously, Mr Wang, a cotton grower in Xinjiang Province in the northwest of China, trialled the RLF ‘seed priming + Ultra 12 foliar’ program on a small scale, and the effect was noticeable. He then expanded to 180 mu in 2020, and the RLF Technical Team tracked the program to gauge both effects and success.

Location No 29 farm, Alar City, Xinjiang Province
Grower Mr Wang
Trial Area 180mu
Trial Program Application Time Products and Method Used
Before sowing 1kg seed + 6ml BSN + 15ml water, mixing, then drying the seed
Bud stage Broadacre Plus 50g/mu, foliar spray
Blooming stage Broadacre Plus 50g/mu, foliar spray
Boll Stage Broadacre Plus 50g/mu, foliar spray

Showing the Effects and Comparisons

1. Young Seedling Stage

The BSN Seed Priming fertiliser provides the nutrition for the first four weeks of the cotton crops growth. It eliminates the differences between seeds, improves seed vigour, enhances bud potential, and achieves root strength and seedling uniformity, laying a solid foundation for growth.

It can be seen from the comparison that after using BSN Seed fertiliser, the primary roots of the cotton seedlings were longer, and the number of lateral roots capillary roots was greater.

2. Seedling Stage

At this stage, the RLF-treated cotton field’s stalk was stout, and the leaves were slightly thicker and broader than Control.

3.Bud Stage

Compared with the Control crop, the cotton in the RLF-treated area showed early flowering and early boll. So, the specialty fertiliser program shows that it is beneficial to the maturity of cotton boll, and this could increase the weight of the single boll.

4.Boll Stage

The stalk in the RLF-treated field is stout and shows profitable growth. By taking one plant from each of the areas for comparison and the RLF-treated boll is more extensive, and the numbers are 1-2 more.

5.Boll Opening Stage

One hundred flowers were randomly picked from both the Trial field and the Control field for weighing.
Control RLF-treated
Control 1 609.3g RLF-treated 1 618.4g
Control 2 619.1g RLF-treated 2 637.4g

The weight of single boll in the RLF Trial crop was, on average, 0.14g heavier than that in the Control crop.

Showing the weight of the cotton boll from RLF-treated crop

Showing the weight of the cotton boll from Control Crop

Revenue

According to the yield measurement calculation, the RLF crop nutrition cotton program can increase the yield by about 10kg compared with that of the Control crop. By using last year’s purchase price of 7 yuan/kg, per mu as a guide, the increase in income would be in the order of 70 yuan.

The net cost per mu is 15 yuan, so the net increase is 55 yuan per mu. By this measure, Mr Wang could achieve a net gain of 9900 yuan for his 180mu Trial crop when compared to the income of the Control.

Plants per mu Average bolls Number plants Average weight of each boll (g) Yield per mu (kg) Increased yield per mu (kg) Increased income per mu (yuan)
Control 10,000 7 6.142 430
RLF-treated 10,000 7 6.279 440 10 70

Conclusion

Through this demonstration trial and the experience of RLF products in cotton over many years, it was found that in cotton planting, by using BSN Seed Priming fertiliser before sowing, and following this with a foliar spray of Broadacre Plus at bud, flower and boll stages, the following improvements can be achieved:

  • Improved emergence rate of cotton seedlings, with seedlings being even and healthy and the root system more developed
  • The number of bolls is increased, with an increase in the weight of a single boll
  • Effective improvement in yield per mu with a corresponding increase
    in revenue