Organic Cotton Farming Practices

Organic cotton farming relies on crop rotation (cotton-wheat-legume 3-year cycles), cover crops (clover, vetch), compost application (5–10 tonnes/ha), and integrated pest management (IPM) using neem-based biopesticides, pheromone traps, and beneficial insect habitat strips. Water use is 10–30% lower in drip-irrigated organic systems (600–900 L/kg lint) versus conventional flood irrigation (1,200–1,500 L/kg lint). Yield penalty of 20–30% versus conventional is partially offset by 20–35% price premium. India's BCI (Better Cotton Initiative) and organic transitions involve 180,000+ smallholder farmers (<2 ha holdings). Carbon sequestration in organic cotton soils averages 0.3–0.8 tonnes CO₂e/ha/year versus 0.1–0.3 for conventional. Bt cotton adoption in conventional farming (90% of US, 95% of Indian cotton) is prohibited under organic standards, requiring manual and biological pest management alternatives costing $80–150/ha more than chemical control.