MULTAN: Agriculture experts said on Monday that sowing wheat early in standing cotton crop saves time and resources and wheat sown on or before November 15 delivers best production results.
Experts, however, advised farmers to free the field from weeds, and level it and cotton be picked from all the cotton bolls that are opened before sowing wheat, says a release issued by media liaison unit of Punjab agriculture department here.
Farmers should then fill the field with water. Healthy and disease-free seed of wheat be sown at the rate of 60 kilogram per acre. Seed should be treated with some anti-fungus agent before sowing.
After sowing, farmers should keep the beds wet or moist for better germination. Wheat sown before November 15 ensures robust growth of shoots. Experts said that farmers can finish the picking of cotton from the remaining bolls from December 15 to 30 which means they should remove cotton sticks some 30-40 days after the wheat sowing.
However, before embarking on last picking of cotton, farmers should apply 1.5 to two bags of DAP and a bag of Urea per acre and then complete the cotton picking and remove sticks. Cotton sticks be cut from two inch deep inside the soil. Then farmers should apply one and half bags of Urea per acre in January end or early February. Wheat sown in cotton field should get first water some seven to ten days after sowing. Second water should be applied in third week of December, third water in second week of January and fourth water in the third week of February.
Quantity of water application can be adjusted in accordance with weather conditions. This type of wheat sowing reduces weeds growth, however, farmers should apply weedicides after second water after consulting agriculture officials.
Farmers do not need to prepare land in case of sowing wheat in standing cotton crop. In time sowing of wheat enhances wheat production by 50 per cent and cotton production by 15 per cent. It reduces land preparation expenses by 95 per cent and hence become a profitable practice.
