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Cotton growing zones of India: north, central, south Photo: Internet Archive Book Images · No restrictions · source ↗

Cotton growing zones of India: north, central, south

ICAR-CICR and AICRP-Cotton classify the Indian cotton belt into three agro-climatic zones — north, central and south — for variety recommendation, package-of-practice development, pest forecasting and procurement coordination. The zones differ in soil type, rainfall, sowing window, dominant pest and disease pressure, fibre staple length and degree of irrigation.

North zone

States: Punjab, Haryana, north and west Rajasthan and parts of north-west Uttar Pradesh. Area roughly 1.4-1.6 million hectares.

  • Soils: alluvial, deep loamy, mostly irrigated through tubewell and canal.
  • Climate: low monsoon rainfall (300-500 mm), high summer temperatures, short cotton season — sowing April-May, picking September-November.
  • Crop type: mostly long-staple G. hirsutum Bt hybrids; some desi G. arboreum in CLCuV-prone tracts.
  • Major problems: cotton leaf curl virus (Cotton Cotton Leaf Curl Virus Clcuv) transmitted by whitefly, sucking pest complex, water scarcity.

Central zone

States: Maharashtra (Vidarbha, Marathwada, Khandesh), Gujarat (Saurashtra, north Gujarat), Madhya Pradesh (Nimar). Area roughly 7.5-8.0 million hectares — the largest single zone.

  • Soils: shallow to medium black cotton soils (Vertisols) and some alluvial in Gujarat. Largely rainfed (60-80%).
  • Climate: 600-1100 mm monsoon rainfall, sowing June (kharif onset), picking October-February.
  • Crop type: medium-long staple Bt G. hirsutum hybrids dominate; G. herbaceum (Wagad cotton) in Saurashtra.
  • Major problems: pink bollworm Bt-resistance (Cotton American Vs Desi Vs Egyptian for species context), erratic rainfall, fusarium wilt in some districts (Cotton Fusarium Wilt Resistance).

South zone

States: Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu. Area roughly 3.0-3.5 million hectares.

  • Soils: mix of red sandy loams, black cotton (Vertisols), alluvial. Mix of rainfed and irrigated.
  • Climate: 600-1100 mm rainfall (some areas get north-east monsoon contribution), sowing June-August, picking November-March.
  • Crop type: medium-staple Bt hybrids; extra-long-staple G. barbadense DCH-32 in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu (High Density Planting System Cotton).
  • Major problems: pink bollworm, sucking pest complex, mealybug, declining picking labour availability.

Why the zone system matters

The zone framework drives:

  • Variety release: AICRP-Cotton trials run separately per zone; varieties are notified for specific zones.
  • Package of practice: spacing, sowing window, irrigation schedule and IPM calendar differ by zone.
  • Pest surveillance: ICAR-CICR's pest-forecasting nodes are zone-specific; pink bollworm pheromone monitoring is calibrated regionally.
  • MSP and procurement: CCI procurement infrastructure (Cotton Cci Msp Procurement National) is organised by zone, with branch offices in Sirsa (north), Nagpur (central) and Hyderabad/Guntur/Bangalore (south).

See also Cotton American Vs Desi Vs Egyptian, Cotton Cotton Leaf Curl Virus Clcuv, Cotton Cci Msp Procurement National, High Density Planting System Cotton, Cotton Fusarium Wilt Resistance.

Sources

  1. Cotton crop zones. ICAR-CICR.
  2. AICRP Cotton zonal coordination. ICAR All-India Coordinated Research Project on Cotton.
  3. Cotton statistics by zone. Cotton Corporation of India.