Cotton double-cropping with maize/jowar/wheat

Cotton double-cropping is the practice of growing a second crop — typically rabi maize, sorghum (jowar), wheat or chickpea — on the same field immediately after a short- to medium-duration cotton crop is terminated in November or December. The system depends on short-duration cotton hybrids that vacate the field early enough to allow timely sowing of the rabi crop.

Principle

Conventional 180-210-day cotton hybrids cannot be followed by a rabi crop without sacrificing rabi sowing windows. Hybrids with 140-160-day duration finish flowering and boll formation by October-November, permitting termination, residue management and rabi sowing within the rabi calendar.

Implementation

In Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, cotton is often followed by rabi maize, sorghum or chickpea using short-duration hybrids such as Jk 9555 Cotton, Rasi 659 and Crystal Cch 369. In northern India, cotton-wheat is a long-established rotation built on 170-180-day cotton hybrids such as Ankur 651. Termination involves uprooting standing cotton, shredding stalks and conserving residue moisture for the succeeding crop.

Adoption context

The system aligns naturally with the ICAR-CICR advisory to terminate cotton by December to break the Pink Bollworm life cycle (see Cotton Delayed Sowing Ipm). It is therefore promoted not only as an agronomic intensification tool but also as a pest-management practice that removes the late-season carryover host. Farmers report better income stability from two harvests on the same field.

Limitations

Double-cropping requires assured rabi irrigation or stored soil moisture, mechanised termination at the right window, and farm planning to coordinate cotton picking with rabi sowing. On rainfed Vertisols without rabi irrigation, the second crop may not be viable.

References

Cotton Varieties and Hybrids - CICR Technical Bulletin. ICAR-CICR via vikaspedia.
Cropping pattern in Telangana. PJTSAU.