Anhui is a relative small cotton-producing province by China's standards, with 2006/07 output reaching 360,000 tons. Optimism over this year's cotton crop is fading fast as unwelcome rain continues to move through much of the cotton belt. Many areas of the cotton belt experienced excessive rain during the squaring period, which resulted in less buds and bolls and more branches and leaves. Overall, yields are now expected to fall below last season.
Approximately one-fourth of the provincial acreage has reported a light bollworm outbreak, with over 50 percent of the acreage being treated for leaf mite. Plant bugs are the most serious problem, with growers reported to be treating 266,666 hectares out of approximately 391,333 hectares of planted acreage. Cotton wilt is now another issue. Most of these problems are associated with the excessive moisture.
