Kaiwen Liang

Agri-Products Application Center, Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resouces, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China
Author    Correspondence author
Cotton Genomics and Genetics, 2025, Vol. 16, No. 2   doi: 10.5376/cgg.2025.16.0009
Received: 01 Jan., 2025    Accepted: 12 Mar., 2025    Published: 01 Apr., 2025

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Liang K.W., 2025, Best practices for sustainable cotton farming systems, Cotton Genomics and Genetics, 16(2): 80-94 (doi: 10.5376/cgg.2025.16.0009)

 

Cotton is a major fiber crop in the world and plays an important role in the agricultural economy. However, conventional cotton production faces sustainability challenges such as excessive use of pesticides, water waste and soil degradation. This study focuses on "Best Practices in Sustainable Cotton Cultivation Systems", reviews the current background and problems of global cotton production, explores agronomic practices, socioeconomic strategies, technological innovations and policy support mechanisms to achieve sustainable development, and analyzes the practical effects based on a case study in Gujarat, India. The study found that agronomic practices such as integrated pest management, soil health maintenance and water-saving irrigation can effectively reduce chemical inputs and maintain or increase yields; strengthening cotton farmer training, ensuring labor equity and expanding market channels can improve cotton farmers' livelihoods and enhance the industry's risk resistance; the application of precision agriculture, biotechnology and digital platforms is improving cotton production efficiency and environmental performance; and policy support such as certification standards, government subsidies and R&D investment is crucial for the large-scale promotion of sustainable cotton practices. Based on real data from case studies, we summarize the successful experience of sustainable cotton cultivation and make recommendations for future expansion, strengthening climate adaptability and deepening international cooperation. The research aims to provide scientific basis for major cotton producing countries and relevant stakeholders, and to help the green transformation and sustainable development of the global cotton industry.

Cotton; Sustainable agriculture; Integrated pest management; Soil health; Water-saving irrigation