Seed Division of Ali Akbar Group has introduced two new varieties of cotton crop 703 and 802, which is the outcome of the last ten years research as the Group has been working on the improvement of cotton crop both in the yield and fibre quality since long.
These varieties have ability to resist against bollworms and Leaf Curl virus and have potential to yield 40 to 60 maunds per acre. By the end of October these varieties open almost 100 per cent and farmers can plant wheat on time to get maximum yield from wheat as well.
The plants are of medium height having few vegetative branches and mature earlier. Another quality of these two varieties is the quality of the fibre. The length of staple is about 28 to 30 mm which is good for spinning a yarn of 40 counts.
The strength is excellent and micronair value is below 5 gm/inch. The micronair value of 3.5 to 4.5 is considered the best in upland cotton varieties. The ginning out turn is 38.5 to 39.4 per cent, which is again another quality of these two varieties.
Both these two varieties have been planted with different farmers in Mailsi. They are free of virus and full of bolls. The farmers have already picked 19 maunds of cotton in August and they expect another 35 to 40 maunds by the end of October. It is high time that farmers should realise that management is the key factor for the success of cotton crop. From this year's results, it is concluded that the best time for sowing of these varieties is the 1st week of May.