On November 8, in order to help the development of the machine-picked cotton industry in Wangjiang County, Anhui Province, experts from the Wangjiang County Cotton Industry Chain Science and Technology Mission combined science and technology volunteer service activities and went deep into the fields and workshops to carry out mechanized cotton picking. Technical assistance and guidance on cleaning and processing of harvested and machine-picked seed cotton.
Wangjiang is the first major cotton-producing county in Anhui Province and is known as the “Hometown of White Clouds”. The variety, technology and model of machine-picked cotton are basically mature, but the promotion is not fast and the scale is not large. The difficulty lies in mechanized harvesting, sales and cleaning and processing of machine-picked seed cotton.
The Wangjiang County Cotton Industry Chain Science and Technology Mission is to implement the “Notice of the Rural Work Leading Group of the Anhui Provincial Committee on Issuing “Several Measures to Further Improve and Consolidate the Science and Technology Commissioner System” (Anhui Agricultural and Industrial Group [2022] No. 2) and other documents, jointly organized by the Cotton Research Institute of the Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the China Cotton Institute, the Textile and Clothing College of Anhui Engineering University, the Anhui Agricultural Technology Promotion Station, the Yangtze River Scientific Research Center of the China Cotton Institute, and Anqing Fiber Inspection It was established by 7 units including the institute, composed of 23 experts in different fields such as breeding, cultivation, plant protection, machinery, management, chemistry, textile and clothing, and inspection.
The Wangjiang County Cotton Industry Chain Science and Technology Mission focuses on the development bottlenecks of the cotton and textile and garment industries. By promoting new varieties, new technologies and new models, it carries out research on industrial technical problems and implements scientific and technological projects to help farmers increase production. Increase income, help enterprises improve quality and efficiency, promote high-quality development of the cotton industry, assist the transformation and upgrading of the textile and apparel industry, and provide technological and talent support for Wangjiang to build a national textile and apparel county. At the cotton picker operation site, experts from the mission popularized cotton picker operating conditions, operating advantages, and operation safety knowledge to family farmers and cotton farmers.
In 2022, the cotton areas in the Yangtze River Basin encountered a rare sustained high-temperature drought disaster. The growth period of machine-picked cotton was advanced. The weight of cotton single bolls in a few extremely drought-stricken cotton fields was smaller than normal, and the cost of manual picking rose to 1.5 About yuan/jin. In order to reduce the picking cost, experts from the mission contacted and coordinated with various parties to introduce intelligent cotton picking machines from Hubei Province to Wangjiang to provide socialized mechanized harvesting services. The picking cost was reduced to 200 yuan/acre. Mechanical harvesting alone cost 100 yuan/acre. It can save cotton farmers more than 200 yuan.
Since machine-picked seed cotton contains more impurities than hand-picked seed cotton, it is necessary to increase the seed cotton cleaning process before entering the ginning process. Moreover, the scale of machine-picked seed cotton in Wangjiang County is currently relatively small. The sales of machine-picked seed cotton still have certain difficulties for farmers and large cotton growers. To this end, experts from the mission made plans when planting machine-picked cotton, and entrusted ginning plants that have cooperated with the National Cotton Industry Technology System Wannan and North Anhui Comprehensive Test Stations for many years to purchase and process at designated locations, realizing order production and solving the problem of machine-picked cotton. Practical Difficulties in Selling Seed Cotton.
In the ginnery, experts from the mission carefully compared the quality of lint after cleaning and processing between hand-picked seed cotton and machine-picked seed cotton. Although machine-picked cotton has more impurities such as leaves and other inherent impurities, it is ” “Three silk” content is very effective, and the latter is the quality indicator that textile mills pay more attention to. Regarding the cleaning and processing technology, experts from the mission suggested seeking government support, applying for purchase subsidies, introducing and building a high-standard cleaning and processing production line for machine-picked seed cotton, and providing services and guidance in quality testing and process optimization.
Up to now, the mechanized cotton harvesting area in Wangjiang County has reached nearly 1,000 acres, which has effectively improved cotton production efficiency. Under the dual pressure of drought disaster and low seed cotton prices, it has ensured that machine-picked cotton cultivation remains Being able to achieve expected returns has promoted the large-scale development of the machine-picked cotton industry, and the prototype of the machine-picked cotton industry chain system in Wangjiang County has basically taken shape.
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