Satellites, AI to help certify fields growing organic cotton

Subject : Science and technology

Section: Awareness in IT

Concept :

The European Space Agency (ESA), Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and Marple (an AI company) are aiming to combine data from satellite images and artificial intelligence (AI) to keep track of cotton certification in India.
It will categorize cotton fields in India in line with cultivation standards.
It will help in generating accurate estimates of organic cotton in specific regions.
Moreover, the initiative will support those regions that demonstrate potential for a seamless transition to organic cultivation.
The main objective of the initiative is to bolster the integrity of organic cotton and prevent fraud throughout the supply chain.
It will also improve economic opportunity by bringing a greater number of small-scale farmers into the certified organic sector and supply chains.
It would escalate consumer demand.
The project was undertaken on a pilot basis in Uzbekistan (2021). It showed 98% accuracy in differentiating organic and conventional cotton fields.
The first results in India are expected to be released in late 2023.

Cotton Crop

Cotton crop-

Conditions of Growth-

Cotton is the crop of tropical and subtropical areas and requires uniformly high temperatures varying between 21°C and 30°C.
Frost is enemy number one of the cotton plant and it is grown in areas having at least 210 frost-free days in a year.
The modest requirement of water can be met by an average annual rainfall of 50- 100 cm.
About 80 per cent of the total irrigated area under cotton is in Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Moist weather and heavy rainfall at the time of boll-opening and picking are detrimental to cotton as the plant becomes vulnerable to pests and diseases.
High amounts of rainfall in the beginning and sunny and dry weather at ripening time are very useful for a good crop.
Cotton is a Kharif crop which requires 6 to 8 months to mature.
In the peninsular part of India, it is sown up to October and harvested between January and May because there is no danger of winter frost in these areas. In Tamil Nadu, it is grown both as a kharif and as a rabi crop.
Cotton cultivation is closely related to deep black soils (regur) of the Deccan and the Malwa Plateaus and those of Gujarat. It also grows well in alluvial soils of the Satluj-Ganga Plain and red and laterite soils of the peninsular regions.
Cotton quickly exhausts the fertility of the soil. Therefore, regular application of manures and fertilizers to the soils is very necessary.

Production-

India has the largest area under cotton cultivation in the world though it is the world’s third largest producer of cotton after China and the USA.
Currently it is grown over 6 per cent of the net sown area.

Distribution-

In India, cotton is grown in three distinct agro-ecological zones, viz.,
- Northern (Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan),
- Central (Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh) and
- Southern zone (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka).
Maharashtra is the largest producer and produces 29.78 per cent of the total cotton production of India. Maharashtra is a traditional producer of cotton. Over 80 per cent of the production comes from Khandesh, Vidarbha and Marathwada regions.