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CLEANER COTTON™
The "BASIC"
Program
In 1996, in an effort to develop and spread
knowledge about alternatives to chemical farming systems in
cotton, the California-based Sustainable Cotton Project
(SCP) launched its BASIC program. Short for Biological
Agriculture Systems In Cotton, the BASIC program includes
mentor farmer outreach, step-by-step growing assistance, organic
and sustainable field research trials and systematic monitoring.
Because farmers usually place great importance
on the success of their peers when considering new growing
strategies, the BASIC program includes information sharing
among farmers who already produce and market cotton using
biological agriculture practices.
Through regular field day events and farmer
mentor programs, BASIC outreach activities guide and educate
growers through the changeover from chemically-dependent to
more biological sound approaches. Composted manures and cover
crops replace synthetic fertilizers; innovative weeding strategies
are used instead of herbicides; beneficial insects and trap
crops control insect pests; and alternatives to toxic defoliants
prepare plants for harvest.
Building a dynamic research base is an
essential additional goal of the BASIC program. The research
has proven that practical solutions are already available,
but there is still much to be done to continually improve
the state of the art of sustainable and organic cotton farming.
In September 2005, SCP began a new collaboration
with growers in Arizona and Georgia, to conserve and promote
beneficial insect habitat around cotton fields. This project
extends SCP’s objective to reduce pesticide applications
on cotton using ecological pest management approaches while
maintaining cotton quality. The techniques developed in this
collaboration will be documented and made available to other
farmers through on-farm field days. SCP will also disseminate
free hardcopy and web-based technical information, and give
conference presentations. This project will also continue
to support and facilitate efforts to develop markets for Cleaner Cotton™.
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