Assist. Prof. Dr. Abdullsamad Hashim Noaman

    Cotton is one of the most important fiber crops in the world. It is one of the important export industrial crops.  From a taxonomic point of view, cotton hair is use in the textile industry, while cotton seed is one of the sources of  important oils and its waste is used in the manufacture of feed. Cotton production represents an important income for the  country that produces it, as it provides means of work for a large proportion of the population, which is not limited to  agriculture only, but also goes beyond it to work in gins, spinning and weaving factories, and other industries and marketing.

Iraq still suffers from a shortage in cotton production, and what is produced locally is only a small percentage of the actual  cotton need. The reason for this is due to the high production costs due to inflation imported from other industrialized countries,  and the lack of environmentally friendly cotton varieties. And since the economic importance of the cotton crop increases due to the increase in demand for clothing and edible oil, as cotton is produced in many countries of the world that have the appropriate conditions and environment for its cultivation, but eight countries produce about 82% of global production and these countries (Russia, China, America, India, Pakistan, Brazil, Turkey and Egypt).

About ten varieties of cotton are grown in Iraq, with different characteristics between the size of the ball and length of the lint. The cultivated areas have decreased during the current period in the areas of cotton production in Iraq due to the agricultural policy and the imbalance between revenues and expenses compared to other alternative crops such as corn, sunflower and other crops. In addition to the deterioration of the productivity of the cultivated varieties and their infection with many pests, so the fluctuation in the prices of some inputs, whether the prices of materials such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and workers’ wages, as well as to some outputs, some of which fall out of control, such as prices or the receipt of crops by the state, and therefore cannot be controlled and avoided from Before the farmers, and perhaps the income that is achieved may not be commensurate with the costs of the inputs and the efforts made in cultivating the crop, making this one of the most important reasons for the farmers’ reluctance to grow this crop.

Accordingly, the most important reasons that led to the decline in cotton productivity can be summarized as follows:

1. Failure to follow the correct agricultural processes, which are:

A - Non-compliance with the recommended agricultural dates.

B - The lack of high-productivity cultivars and hybrids for farmers.

C - Unbalanced fertilization, as most farmers do not use fertilizers or use urea only and are ignorant of other nitrogenous, phosphate and potash fertilizers.

D - Not using modern irrigation methods.

C - Some farmers' lack of commitment to the recommended agricultural distances and plant density.

2. Rising prices of agricultural inputs

The high prices of fertilizers, pesticides, fuel, labor and wages are among the reasons for the reluctance of many farmers to grow cotton due to the  increase in cost and the low economic return of cotton due to the low purchasing value of cotton so that it sometimes does not cover production costs.

Objectives of the campaign to advance the cotton crop:

1- Cultivation in the specified area and the appropriate time according to the recommendations of the research centers.

2- Working on using the latest technologies applied in modern irrigation systems (spraying , drip).

3- Automatically planting and harvesting cotton to solve the problem of high and expensive labor wages. The harvesting process is one of the important  operations related to maintaining the crop, rank and quality characteristics, which must take place in two stages, the first when 60% of the almonds are  opened, and the second when the rest of the almonds are opened.

4- Intercropping system and alternate some crops with cotton.

5- Preparing integrated management programs for crops managed by specialized technicians.

6- Using crop breeding programs and resorting to two directions, either producing varieties or hybrids or preserving the variety through selection to develop  strains and varieties characterized by their high productivity and distinct technological qualities that suit the spinning and weaving industry in the country.

Therefore, it is necessary to obtain genotypes that combine the characteristics of the crop, its components, growth and characteristics of the staple, in addition  to its resistance to insect infestation through plant breeding programs and biotechnologies. So the key to sustaining the cotton crop lies in integrating several  factors such as climate, soil, water availability and social structure with changing varieties, using the latest technological systems and training agricultural technicians  on integrated systems.