LRA 5166
A long-staple, non-Bt Gossypium hirsutum release predating the Bt era — sown as the mandatory refuge crop around Bt fields, or by farmers who save their own seed.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Cotton
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Kharif
- Maturity period
- 165–175 days
- Seed rate
- 3.5 kg per acre as a non-Bt variety (PAU rate for cotton varieties)
- Expected yield
- 12–15 q/ha (seed cotton)
- Suitable soil
- Clay / black soil
- Disease resistance
- No built-in bollworm protection — needs its own spray schedule
- Release
- AICCIP, Coimbatore — originally released for Tamil Nadu, later grown more widely for its adaptability
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
LRA 5166 is an older American cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) release from the All India Coordinated Cotton Improvement Project (AICCIP), Coimbatore — bred and originally recommended for Tamil Nadu before its wide adaptability carried it into other cotton belts. It is reported to trace to a three-way cross involving Laxmi cotton, Reba B-50 (a Central African line) and AC 122. Being non-Bt and long-staple, it now does double duty: sown by farmers who want to save their own seed, and planted as the mandatory refuge crop bordering Bt hybrid fields.
Should you pick this variety?
Pick LRA 5166 if you want to save your own cotton seed, or if you need a refuge crop around a Bt hybrid block and would rather that refuge also earn something. It is an AICCIP Coimbatore release of American cotton (G. hirsutum), open-pollinated, long-staple, sown June–July with picking in December–January, giving 12–15 q/ha over 165–175 days. It has no bollworm protection of its own, so keep a spray plan ready. Choose a Bt hybrid if irrigation and inputs are assured and you want the top yield, and Suraj if your land is sandy and dry and sucking pests are the bigger problem.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing time1 April to 15 May in the north zone (PAU). Sowing early also helps the crop stay ahead of sucking pests
- Seed rate3.5 kg per acre as a non-Bt variety (PAU rate for cotton varieties)
- Spacing67.5 cm between rows and 60 cm between plants after thinning — a variety stands closer than a hybrid but still needs room to branch
- Sowing methodSow with a cotton drill or planter and thin after the first irrigation. Delint fuzzy seed with sulphuric acid before sowing for even germination
- IrrigationFour to six irrigations, the first 4 to 6 weeks after sowing and the rest at two to three week intervals (PAU)
- Fertilizer30 kg N and 12 kg P2O5 per acre for a non-Bt variety, against 55 kg N for a hybrid. Omit the phosphorus where the preceding wheat got its full dose (PAU)
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Non-Bt and open-pollinated, so seed can be saved and re-sown year to year
- Long-staple fibre with a track record of wide adaptability across cotton tracts beyond its original Tamil Nadu recommendation
- Doubles as the compliant refuge crop for farmers who also plant a Bt hybrid nearby
Things to consider
- No built-in bollworm protection — needs its own spray schedule
- Lower seed-cotton yield ceiling than a modern Bt hybrid under high-input, irrigated management
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Gujarat
- Maharashtra
Planting the refuge rows, and why they matter
A non-Bt cotton planted around a Bt field is there so that some bollworms complete their life cycle without meeting the Bt protein. Those insects breed with any that survive inside the Bt crop, which slows resistance down. Pink bollworm is what happens when that step is skipped for years.
Plant the refuge as a proper border of non-Bt rows all around the Bt field, sow it at the same time as the main crop so flowering overlaps, and do not spray it clean of every caterpillar — a refuge with no insects is not a refuge. Follow the row count your Bt seed packet specifies. The refuge is not wasted land: LRA 5166 is a long-staple cotton in its own right, it is open-pollinated, so you can keep seed from it, and it needs its own bollworm spray schedule because it carries no built-in protection.
Can you keep your own planting material?
This is an open-pollinated variety, so seed from a healthy crop of your own can be sown again. Keep seed only from disease-free plants, dry it properly, store it cool and dry, and bring in fresh certified seed every three to four years so the variety does not drift.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Cotton variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bt hybrid (Bollgard II event) | Irrigated, high-input cotton where American bollworm is the main pest | 160–170 days | 18–22 q/ha (seed cotton) | Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab |
| DCH-32 (hybrid) | Extra-long staple cotton under assured irrigation in south India | 170–180 days | 10–15 q/ha seed cotton | Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra |
| LRA 5166this page | Non-Bt long-staple cotton for seed saving and for the Bt refuge rows | 165–175 days | 12–15 q/ha (seed cotton) | Gujarat, Maharashtra |
| Suraj (desi, non-Bt) | Low-input desi cotton for dry, sandy north-west land | 150–160 days | 8–10 q/ha, stable under stress | Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Cotton is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Cotton plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Germination CalculatorTest 100 seeds from the bag before sowing and see whether the lot is fit to sow.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Cotton variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Cotton into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Cotton in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Cotton rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Frequently asked questions
Why is LRA 5166 sown around Bt cotton fields?
Every Bt hybrid block must have a refuge of non-Bt cotton — 5 border rows or 20% of the field, whichever is more. LRA 5166 is non-Bt and long-staple, so it meets that requirement and still gives a saleable picking instead of a wasted border.
Can I use my own LRA 5166 seed next season?
Yes. It is open-pollinated, not a hybrid, so seed kept from a well-grown crop comes up true to type. Pick seed cotton from healthy middle-of-the-field plants, gin it separately, and go back to certified seed if the staple length or plant stand starts dropping.
How much less does LRA 5166 yield than a Bt hybrid?
About 12–15 q/ha against 18–22 q/ha for a Bt hybrid under high-input irrigated management. The gap narrows on rainfed or low-input land, where the costly hybrid cannot show its full yield either.
How much LRA 5166 seed do I need per acre?
3.5 kg per acre, the PAU rate for cotton varieties as against hybrids. Being a variety and not a hybrid, the seed is cheap, and the saving on seed is a real part of why farmers keep LRA 5166 for the refuge rows.
How long does LRA 5166 take?
165–175 days, roughly the same as a Bt hybrid at 160–170 days. Sowing it as the refuge around a Bt field therefore works on the calendar too, because both are picked over the same weeks.
Sourced from: Package of Practices for Kharif Crops, Punjab Agricultural University: cotton sowing window, seed rate and spacing for non-Bt varieties, acid delinting, fertiliser and irrigation. editorial policy.