Science, machinery lift Xinjiang's cotton production
What's surprising as the cotton harvest wraps up for the year in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region is that the area under cultivation has been reduced but total cotton output has gone up.
It's the result of mechanization and the application of science to improve efficiency and cotton yield.
This year the cotton planting area across Xinjiang was nearly 2.48 million hectares, a decrease of 23,233 hectares from last year. Yet the total cotton output in the region is expected to surpass 5.2 million metric tons, an increase of 39,600 tons, according to the region's department of agriculture and rural affairs.
The figures, released by the country's fiber quality supervision and testing center, show that the color, length, resistance and other key factors in determining the quality and performance of the cotton produced this year have been improved markedly.
Meanwhile, the price of cotton has stayed high since late September, boosting the incomes of cotton farmers in Xinjiang.
Reheman Yunus, 36, from Weili county of Xinjiang's Bayingol Mongolian autonomous prefecture, has harvested more than 200 tons of cotton from his cotton field covering over 35.33 hectares this year.
"I've also raised more than 80 sheep, and my family's net income has reached 1 million yuan ($157,400) this year," he said.
Yunus was born into a cotton farmers' family. In 2005, he took over the fields from his father and began learning how to grow cotton in a more scientific way from experienced cotton growers in his village and experts sent by the local government.
"When I was young, the whole family had to help with the farm, including sowing seeds, weeding fields and picking the cotton," he said. "Today, however, with an advanced water-saving irrigation system and various machinery in place, the production efficiency is higher."
In 2013, Yunus bought a tractor to help with ploughing and sowing. His cotton output per mu (about 0.067 hectares) reached 400 kilograms for the first time that year.
"That made me notice the benefits of scientific, mechanized farming," he said.
He has actively mechanized his operations. He uses aerial drones to spray pesticides and machines to pick the cotton. And he has integrated the application of water and fertilizer.
Yunus added that the income he gained from cotton cultivation allowed him to buy two cars and an apartment in the county's downtown area. He plans to purchase more machines in the future.
The mechanical picking efficiency rate for cotton in northern Xinjiang has reached nearly 100 percent; in southern Xinjiang, it has gradually improved. It is estimated that the mechanical efficiency in picking cotton will exceed 80 percent in the south this year, the regional department of agriculture and rural affairs said.
