Suraj (desi, non-Bt)
A desi (Gossypium arboreum) open-pollinated variety — lower yield ceiling than a Bt hybrid, but the seed can be saved and it needs far less input.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Cotton
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Kharif
- Maturity period
- 150–160 days
- Seed rate
- 3.5 kg per acre, the rate PAU gives non-Bt cotton varieties — several times what a hybrid needs, and seed you can keep from your own crop
- Expected yield
- 8–10 q/ha, stable under stress
- Suitable soil
- Sandy / light soil
- Disease resistance
- Better sucking-pest tolerance than American cotton
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Suraj belongs to the desi cotton group — Gossypium arboreum, the species long grown across the drier north-west cotton belt before American (G. hirsutum) hybrids took over most of the area. Independent trials at ICAR-CICR, Nagpur have recorded it as a solid, dependable yielder among desi entries. Public, verifiable detail on Suraj specifically — its exact release year and breeding institute — is thin online. It is not repeated here, to avoid stating anything as fact that could not be confirmed against a primary source. The description below stays general to the desi cotton class it belongs to.
Should you pick this variety?
Pick Suraj if you farm sandy, dry land in Punjab, Haryana or Rajasthan with limited water and want a crop that does not need heavy spending. It is a desi cotton (Gossypium arboreum), open-pollinated, 150–160 days, giving a steady 8–10 q/ha even under stress. Its hairy, upright leaves take sucking pests like jassids better than American cotton, and the seed can be saved. The yield ceiling is well below a Bt hybrid and there is no bollworm protection, so this is a low-cost, low-output choice, not a substitute where irrigation and inputs are already assured. Choose a Bt hybrid for top yield on irrigated land, or LRA 5166 if you want non-Bt cotton with long staple.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing time1 April to 15 May in the north zone; sow in the morning or evening (PAU)
- Seed rate3.5 kg per acre, the rate PAU gives non-Bt cotton varieties — several times what a hybrid needs, and seed you can keep from your own crop
- SpacingRows 67.5 cm apart with plants thinned to 60 cm within the row, the spacing for a non-Bt variety (PAU)
- Sowing methodSow in lines with a cotton drill, thinning after the first irrigation or a heavy shower
- IrrigationFour to six irrigations: first at 4 to 6 weeks, the rest every two to three weeks. On light soil or a ridge-sown crop the first one may need to come earlier (PAU)
- Fertilizer30 kg N and 12 kg P2O5 per acre for a non-Bt variety — 65 kg urea with 27 kg DAP or 75 kg single superphosphate (PAU)
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- A desi (G. arboreum) variety — hairy, more upright leaves than American cotton give it naturally better tolerance of sucking pests like jassids
- Seed can be saved and re-sown, unlike a hybrid, and the crop needs far less irrigation and input than a Bt hybrid
Things to consider
- Yield ceiling is well below a Bt hybrid — this is a lower-input, lower-output trade-off, not a direct substitute where irrigation and inputs are already assured
- No built-in bollworm protection — needs its own spray schedule for that pest group
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Punjab
- Haryana
- Rajasthan
Why desi cotton suits dry, sandy land
Suraj is a desi cotton, Gossypium arboreum, and its hairy, upright leaves give it better natural tolerance of sucking pests like jassids than American cotton has. Add an open-pollinated seed you can save, and the whole cost of growing it drops: less seed money, fewer sprays for sucking pests.
The trade is the ceiling. Under good irrigation and heavy inputs a Bt hybrid will out-yield it, so this is not a substitute there. It is a fit where water is short, land is sandy and spending has to stay low — the risk of losing a costly crop is what you are cutting, as much as the input bill. Before you plant a large area, ask your local ginner or trader whether he buys desi cotton and at what rate, because the lint has its own uses and the market for it is not the same in every town.
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 5166 | 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)this page | 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 does desi cotton like Suraj take sucking pests better?
Gossypium arboreum plants carry hairy, more upright leaves than American cotton, which makes it harder for jassids and similar pests to settle and feed. It is a natural plant trait, not a bred-in gene, so it reduces pressure rather than removing the need to watch the crop.
Is Suraj worth growing if I can afford a Bt hybrid?
If your water and inputs are assured, a Bt hybrid at 18–22 q/ha will out-earn Suraj's 8–10 q/ha. Suraj earns its place on dry sandy land, where cost per acre matters more than the yield ceiling and a stable 8–10 q/ha beats a costly crop that falls short of its potential.
Can Suraj be used as the refuge crop around Bt cotton?
The refuge has to be non-Bt cotton, and Suraj is non-Bt, but the stewardship requirement is written for a non-Bt crop of the same kind as the Bt field so the bollworms it shelters mix with those in the Bt block. Ask your dealer or KVK for the refuge seed sold with your hybrid, and keep Suraj for its own fields.
What yield should I budget for with Suraj?
8–10 q/ha of seed cotton, and the point of the figure is that it holds up under stress. A Bt hybrid is listed at 18–22 q/ha, but that assumes irrigation and full inputs. On dry sandy land the honest comparison is between 8–10 q/ha you will get and a higher figure you may not.
How long does Suraj take compared with the other cottons here?
150–160 days, the shortest of the four. On dry, sandy north-west land that matters, because a shorter crop needs the soil to hold moisture for fewer weeks and gets the field free sooner.
Sourced from: Package of Practices for Kharif Crops, Punjab Agricultural University: cotton sowing window, seed rate and spacing for non-Bt varieties, fertiliser and irrigation. editorial policy.