Cotton Growers Urged To Drain Rainwater To Save Crop

Sumaira FH Published July 29, 2025 | 06:40 PM

MULTAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Jul, 2025) Director, Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) Multan, Ms. Sabahat Hussain, issued a vital advisory to cotton farmers following recent monsoon rains, warning that stagnant water in fields poses a serious threat to the cotton crop, and must be drained out.

In her statement released Tuesday, Ms. Hussain emphasized that rainwater should not be allowed to stand in cotton fields for more than 24 hours. "When water remains stagnant for extended periods, the roots of the cotton plant cannot absorb oxygen or nutrients effectively, causing the plants to wilt and eventually die," she cautioned. She urged growers to act swiftly to ensure proper drainage to prevent significant damage to the crop.

Highlighting the symptoms of post-rain stress in cotton plants, she noted that yellowing of the crop can occur in such conditions.

“In such cases, farmers should either apply half a bag of urea per acre through irrigation or prepare a 1% urea solution and spray it on the plants,” she advised.

Ms. Hussain also stressed the importance of weed control, urging farmers to focus on manual removal of weeds especially after the fields become moist from rainfall. “If weeds are not eliminated timely, they compete with the cotton plants for nutrients and water, which can reduce yield by 25 to 30 percent,” she explained.

She encouraged farmers to use hoeing techniques to control weeds as soon as the soil becomes workable, and to manually remove any weeds left behind. “Timely intervention and field management can make a significant difference in crop health and productivity,” she concluded.