Why can China produce the top quality Xinjiang long staple cotton in the world? Why does Xinjiang cotton have such a large planting area?
The cotton planting industry is very developed in Xinjiang, which is also known as the “cotton capital” of China. As one of the earliest cotton-growing regions in China, Xinjiang is the main cotton production base in China. The total cotton output has ranked first in the country for more than 20 consecutive years and has become an important pillar industry in Xinjiang.
The raw cotton in Xinjiang cotton area is of good quality and known for its good color, high grade, long fiber and high economic output. Xinjiang has a large cotton planting area, high yield and long sunshine time, so it is suitable for planting cotton, especially Xinjiang long staple cotton. The cultivation of high-grade cotton takes up a large proportion in Xinjiang.
01. History of Cotton Planting In Xinjiang
The history of cotton planting in Xinjiang is generally believed to be no less than 2000 years. According to unearthed cultural relics and ancient books, from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the southern and Northern Dynasties, cotton has been planted in all parts of the Tarim Basin and Turpan, and cotton textile handicraft industry has been established. Xinjiang long staple cotton also has a long history of planting.
02. Xinjiang Long Staple Cotton–The World’s Top Quality Cotton
Xinjiang long staple cotton, named for its long fiber, is produced in Xinjiang Turpan Basin, Aksu, Bayingolin, Kashi and other places in Tarim Basin. Xinjiang long staple cotton has the world’s top quality. It is warm, breathable and comfortable to make clothes and quilts, and the supply exceeds the demand for years.
The quality of Xinjiang long staple cotton is excellent, and all the quality indexes exceed the national standard. Xinjiang long staple cotton produced in Turpan is especially good. Its fiber is soft and long, white and glossy, and has good elasticity. Xinjiang long staple cotton can be made into high-grade large tire cord fabric, anti chemical and anti atomic radiation fabric, other textiles, and all kinds of pagoda thread, sewing thread, embroidery thread, knitting thread, etc.
03. Why Can Xinjiang Produce The World’s Top Quality Cotton
- Xinjiang Long Staple Cotton: Advantage In Climate
Xinjiang cotton region has a great advantage in cotton planting climate. Cotton is a crop that likes temperature, light and is sensitive to water. Xinjiang has abundant heat resources, many sunshine hours and high effective accumulated temperature. The annual sunshine hours are 2500-3500 hours, and the annual sunshine time is very long, which can fully meet the needs of heat and light for cotton growth. There are cotton bases in the north and south of Tianshan Mountain. From Hotan, Kashgar, Aksu and Korla in the south to Manas, Shihezi, Wusu and Bortala in the north, there are large cotton fields.
- Xinjiang Long Staple Cotton: Advantage In Agriculture
The mountains on the northwest side of Xinjiang are low and there are many gaps. A small amount of water vapor in the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean can enter through the gap, so the Tianshan area has a little more precipitation. Ice and snow melt water is also the main source of water. As long as the irrigation problem is solved, cotton can be grown. After the Xinjiang Construction Corps entered Xinjiang, it built a number of man-made water supply facilities for Xinjiang’s agriculture.
Coupled with the efforts of other builders since then, by 1990, Xinjiang had 466 reservoirs with a total storage capacity of 5.9 billion cubic meters, which could irrigate 53 million mu of land. The development of planting technology and the construction of artificial irrigation facilities have made use of Xinjiang’s abundant alpine snow resources, effectively ensuring the water needed by cotton.
Xinjiang is vast and sparsely populated, and the flat land provides the basic conditions for future mechanized production, which can further reduce the cost of cotton production. Cotton picking in Xinjiang has long been mechanized!
- Xinjiang Long Staple Cotton: Technical Advantage
Xinjiang has long implemented technical measures for comprehensive prevention and control of pests and diseases. Good ecological conditions of cotton fields and the cultivation of a large number of beneficial organisms are conducive to the control of pests. Moreover, the Xinjiang cotton area has a dry climate with severe cold in winter, and the lowest temperature is mostly below -20 degrees Celsius, which is not favorable for the overwintering and reproduction of diseases and insects.
Xinjiang is the most suitable place for large-scale cotton cultivation in China, and the cotton it produces is one of the top cotton in the world.
04. Mechanical Planting And Harvest of Xinjiang Long Staple Cotton
On October 17, 2020, in Wenjiazhuang Village, Letuyi Town, Manas County, Xinjiang, a cotton picker harvested cotton from a cotton field. In Manas County, Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, 830,000 mu of cotton was harvested, and cotton farmers were busy harvesting cotton. There is a busy scene in the ginning factory with cars coming and going. In recent years, Manas County has vigorously promoted machine-picked cotton planting, and encouraged qualified agricultural machinery cooperatives and large cotton growers to purchase large-scale cotton-picking machines through increasing subsidies for the purchase of agricultural machinery.
On October 27, 2020, a cotton picker harvested cotton from a cotton field in Tarim Township, Shaya County, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang. In 2020, the cotton planting area in Shaya County has reached 1,984,300 mu, of which the machine-picked cotton has reached 1.5 million mu, and the machine-picked cotton rate has reached over 80%. In recent years, Shaya County has attracted many enterprises such as cotton spinning, agricultural machinery manufacturing, and water-saving equipment manufacturing to settle down. New types of planting cooperatives and labor service cooperatives have also emerged.
On October 27, 2020, in Shaya County, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang’s main cotton producing area, the cotton bales automatically packed by a cotton picker were placed in a cotton field and were soon to be shipped to a ginning factory.
On October 17, 2020, in Wenjiazhuang Village, Letuyi Town, Manas County, Xinjiang, a cotton farmer operated a cotton picker to harvest cotton in a cotton field. In recent years, Manas County has vigorously promoted machine-picked cotton planting, and encouraged qualified agricultural machinery cooperatives and large cotton growers to purchase large-scale cotton-picking machines through increasing subsidies for the purchase of agricultural machinery, thus promoting the high-quality development of the cotton industry.
On October 17, 2020, in Wenjiazhuang Village, Letuyi Town, Manas County, Xinjiang, cotton farmers check the cotton bales automatically packed by the cotton picker. In recent years, Manas County has vigorously promoted machine-picked cotton planting, and encouraged qualified agricultural machinery cooperatives and large cotton growers to purchase large-scale cotton-picking machines through increasing subsidies for the purchase of agricultural machinery, thus promoting the high-quality development of the cotton industry. As of October 2020, there are 221 cotton pickers in the county.
On October 23, 2020, a cotton picker harvested cotton from a cotton field in Tarim Township, Shaya County, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang.
On October 23, 2020, the autumn harvest in China’s main cotton-producing area was harvested by a cotton picker in a cotton field in Shaya County, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang.
On October 17, a cotton field in Wenjiazhuang Village, Letuyi Town, Manas County, Xinjiang.
On September 29, 2020, an agricultural plant protection drone(unmanned aerial vehicle) sprayed defoliants on cotton fields in Yuli County, a major cotton-producing county in Xinjiang.
On March 23, 2018, in a cotton field in Yaha Town, Kuqa County, Xinjiang, villagers used “smart tractors” equipped with automatic navigation systems for cotton sowing operations.
On November 1, 2020, in Gulbag Town, Shaya County, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, agricultural machinery was used to recover residual film and return straw to the field in a harvested cotton field. Xinjiang is the main cotton producing area in China. Shaya County in Aksu Prefecture is located on the northwestern edge of the Tarim Basin and is a major cotton-producing county. In 2020, the cotton planting area in Shaya County has reached 1,984,300 mu, of which machine-picked cotton accounts for about 1.5 million mu.
on October 17, 2020, Workers deliver processed cotton bales at the ginning factory in Letuyi Town, Manas County, Xinjiang.
On September 29, 2020, workers drove a cotton picker to harvest cotton in Yuli County, a major cotton-producing county in Xinjiang.
On October 24, 2019, a large cotton picker picked cotton from a cotton field in Layidang Village, Uluqele Town, Awati County, Xinjiang.
