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BASIC
Program Components| 1
The Sustainable Cotton Project’s BASIC program (Biological
Agriculture Systems In Cotton) has been actively meeting
with cotton growers in the Firebaugh, Mendota and Dos Palos
areas encouraging them to enroll a test block of cotton
into the program. By agreeing to enroll, growers are helping
to refine a system that will enable all cotton growers to
reduce their dependence on pesticides.
The goal of BASIC is to develop a working
knowledge of chemical reduction techniques that can be successfully
and economically applied in California. BASIC offers strategies
designed to save the grower money by reducing the need for
insecticides, miticides, chemical fertilizers and water.
To share this information with local growers, the program
offers field days, demonstrations and on farm trials as
well as highlighting new approaches to help cotton farmers
save money and control pest outbreaks.
Growers enroll before planting, and
team up with other growers to field test the effectiveness
of the BASIC strategy. The main program components are:
1) an April planting
date,
2) cotton fields located near alfalfa or planting beneficial
habitat along field margins,
3) intensive scouting to monitor pests and beneficial insects,
4) early releases of natural enemies within cotton fields,
5) limiting or eliminating pesticide applications in the
spring, and
6) soil fertility and nutrient monitoring.
These program elements can help cotton
growers find a good balance by encouraging soil building,
increasing beneficial habitat, and reducing the need for
expensive chemical sprays.
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