Local Hot Spot: Hubei 2000 Mu Machine Picking Cotton Development Ushers In New Opportunities

On April 27, the Yangtze River Cotton High Quality Development Forum and Industry Situation Analysis Meeting was held in Han. The experts at the meeting discussed the theme of "exploring a new path for the development of cotton industry in the Yangtze River Basin under a new pattern", and made suggestions on new opportunities for cotton development in Hubei.

　　 Three main factors restrict cotton production in the mainland

In 2022, Xinjiang's cotton output will rank first in China, accounting for 5.391 million tons, accounting for 90% of the national cotton output, followed by Shandong and Hebei located in the Yellow River basin, with the output of 145000 tons and 139000 tons, respectively, accounting for about 2% of the national cotton output. Hubei Province, located in the Yangtze River basin, has a cotton output of 103000 tons, ranking fourth in China.

"In recent years, the country has been advocating a moderate resumption of cotton production in the mainland to improve the situation of excessive concentration of cotton in Xinjiang." Yan Li, Secretary General of Hubei Cotton Association, said that China's cotton planting is mainly distributed in the Yangtze River and Yellow River basins as well as Xinjiang's production areas. A few years ago, under the guidance of policies, China's main cotton production areas include the Yangtze River basin, the Yellow River basin Xinjiang's "tripartite confrontation" has evolved into Xinjiang's "one dominant family". Although some incentive policies have been adopted in recent years, cotton production in the mainland has not improved.

What are the main factors restricting the development of cotton industry in the Yangtze River Basin?

"The small planting scale and low efficiency have caused obstacles to the application and promotion of new technologies." Villa, deputy director of the Economic Crops Research Institute of the Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, believes that "the cotton price fluctuates greatly, the cotton farmers' income is unstable; the planting scale is small, there are many cotton pickers; and the confidence in mechanical picking is insufficient" are the three main factors restricting the development of cotton planting in Hubei. "It is easy to reduce the planting area, but it is very difficult to increase it. Because it is difficult to cultivate a large cotton planter." Villa introduced that cotton planting has the highest technical content in all field crops, and cotton picking machinery is also the most complex structure in agricultural machinery.

"The labor input per mu must be reduced." Liu Shuang, general manager of Hubei Yinfeng Cotton Co., Ltd., said that the lack of labor force brought about by the hollowing out of rural areas forced the fundamental change of production mode. At present, there is no processing plant for machine picking cotton in Hubei, which restricts the promotion of the pilot project of machine picking cotton.

In addition, inadequate subsidy policy support is also one of the constraints. "Since 2014, the cotton planting area in Hubei has declined precipitously." Liu Shuang introduced that since 2014, the country has cancelled the temporary purchase and storage policy for cotton and changed it to direct subsidy to Xinjiang, which has a great impact on Hubei cotton region.

Zhao Jinshan, director of Zhengzhou Office of the National Cotton Trading Market, said that in recent years, the country has paid more and more attention to cotton planting in the mainland and gradually introduced new policies. If cotton planting subsidies are in place, the area will rise.

　　 "Big cotton merchant" pilot 2000 mu machine cotton picking

Despite the difficulties, many enterprises are still trying to expand cotton planting in Hubei.

"Due to the widespread use of mulch film, the 'three silk' problem (referring to colored fibers, hair filaments and down mixed in cotton) of Xinjiang cotton is difficult to control in the short term, affecting product quality." Ji Hua, vice president of Shenzhen Cotton Times Technology Co., Ltd. and vice president of R&D of Robust Medical Products Co., Ltd, In view of the fact that the cotton used in the nonwovens industry does not have to pursue the characteristics of Xinjiang long staple cotton, the company tried to plant hand picked cotton on the transferred land in Xinzhou District, Wuhan this year. In order to ensure the quality of cotton and avoid "three silk", strict management and specification shall be carried out in all links of planting, picking and processing. At present, the company has 7 factories in Hubei, which are located in Huanggang, Tianmen, Jingmen and other traditional cotton production areas. In the future, with the expansion of planting area, equipment such as ginning will be added to ensure better quality.

"After the industrial chain is completed, machine picking cotton will be successful!" Liu Shuang introduced that Hubei Yinfeng Cotton Co., Ltd. piloted 400 mu machine picking cotton in 2022, which is the first time in the history of Hubei Province to achieve full machine picking in hundreds of mu fields; This year, we will expand it to more than 2000 mu. We will focus on experiments to increase the yield per mu, and strive to achieve 300 kg per mu of mechanized mining to make profits. "200 mu is technically feasible, 2000 mu is economically feasible, and 20000 mu, or even 200000 mu, will be available next year. This matter should be firmly carried out." Liu Shuang said that the United States cracked down on the stigmatized Xinjiang cotton, and the central government adjusted the overall industrial layout. As a cotton area enterprise, it should respond to the call. It is understood that Hubei Province issued a special document last year to support Yinfeng to build a "big cotton merchant".

Therefore, scientific research institutes will provide strong scientific and technological support for enterprises.

"The success of nine major reforms can be guaranteed if the technology is in place." Villa said that the implementation of machine picking cotton in the Yangtze River basin is a new way, which requires close cooperation between both sides. When enterprises have new needs, they will immediately organize experts to tackle technical problems. It is understood that the cotton team of the Economic Work Institute of the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences has spent more than 10 years in scientific research, and has developed the "standardized cultivation technology of machine picked cotton in the Yangtze River Basin", which was successfully selected as the main cotton production technology model of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in 2022.

(Source: Hubei Daily)