Sowing cotton, an important agricultural campaign began in the country. In accordance with the decree of the Head of the state, on March 23, cotton growers of the Akhal, Lebap and Mary velayats started their sowing campaign. Little later - on March 28 - farmers from the Dashoguz velayat will join them.
Cultivation of this valuable culture is an important specialization of Turkmenistan agriculture. Last year “white gold” masters exceeded the contractual obligations, handing over more than 1 million 100 thousand tons of raw cotton to the state.
The efficiency of the agrarian sector is growing due to the implementation of deep structural transformations in this area, where significant financial resources are allocated for the technical re-equipment of the agro-industrial complex, irrigation and reclamation of farmland, development of seed production, science and breeding and introduction of advanced methods of agrotechnology and engineering.
The cotton ginning industry has been modernized; modern processing plants have been built in the regions.
This year in Turkmenistan 545,000 hectares of land have been allotted for cotton. In total it is planned to collect 1 million 50 thousand tons of "white gold", including 207 thousand tons in the Akhal velayat, 230 thousand tons in the Dashoguz velayat, 300 thousand tons in the Lebap velayat and 313,000 tons in the Mary velayat.
Selected seeds of cotton have been prepared for the beginning of sowing, medium-fiber varieties of which are traditionally cultivated in all regions of the country.Among them, preference is given to such varieties as “Yoloten-7”, “Dashoguz-120”, “Serdar”, “S-4727”, “Yoloten-39”, “Jeyhun”, “S-2606”, distinguished by yield, length and purity of the fiber.
Based on soil and climatic conditions, sowing of fine-fiber cotton varieties, in particular, "Yoloten-14" is carried out in the Akhal and Mary velayats.
In the current campaign, more than 7,000 tractors of different brands, more than 2 thousand 100 seeders, more than 5,000 cotton cultivators, harrows and other agricultural machinery needed to ensure uninterrupted sowing, as well as follow-up agrotechnical activities, will be used.
For the new agricultural season, 380 bio labs are being prepared, operating on the territory of etraps and daikhan associations, which will provide cotton growers with environmentally friendly and economically profitable bioproducts used against cotton pests.
Seminars were held on the eve of the sowing campaign in the Daikhan associations "Gavers" of the Ak Bugday etrap of the Akhal velayat, "Chekich" of the Sayat etrap of the Lebap velayat and "Birleshik" of the Sakarchage etrap of the Mary velayat, devoted to the urgent tasks of further modernization of the village, designed to ensure dynamic development, high profitability of the agro-industrial complex, stable growth in the volume of agricultural production.
Among the participants of the seminars, during which issues related with the cultivation of a generous harvest of "white gold" and other crops have been discussed were heads and representatives of velayat and etrap khyakimliks, the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, the State Service "Turkmenstandartlary", "Daikhanbank", public organizations, elders, agronomists, machine operators, tenant cotton farmers.
In particular, the issue was about an organized and timely implementation of cotton sowing, careful compliance with the norms of agricultural technology at all stages of its cultivation, increasing crop yields, improving the meliorative condition of farmlands, rational use of land and water resources and protecting plants from insect pests and weeds.
Also spring sowing of vegetable and forage crops started on March 23 in the Balkan velayat.
In the framework of the celebrations on the occasion of the beginning of the sowing campaign, exhibitions of agricultural machinery and products of processing enterprises of the agro-industrial complex of Turkmenistan were organized. Musical and folklore-choreographic collectives of the velayats prepared creative gifts for cotton growers.