Additional advantages are that organic farmers do not need to buy pesticides, and farmers get a better price for their cotton.
The basis for organic cotton is a three year crop rotation. The cotton crop in the first year is fertilized with cottonseed press cake and is grown on ridges of decomposing crop residues on the contour line. The cotton crop is followed by grain (maize, millet, sorghum) and oil plants (peanuts, sesame or safflower).
Other possibilities include spices and vegetables like chilli or onion. In the third year, pulses like pigeon pea, mung bean, chick pea and cowpea are grown. The following cotton crop (in year 4) profits from the nitrogen provided.
In longer periods between two growing seasons, the soil is not left bare, but cover crops are grown instead, to prevent soil erosion, to suppress weeds and to supply food and shelter for beneficial insects that control cotton pest insects.
Popular cover crops include alfalfa, sweet clover, red clover, white clover, vetch, cowpea, buckwheat and mustard. In addition, trap crops are grown on the edges of cotton fields. They attract pest insects from the cotton crop. Trap crops include sunflower, cowpea, alfalfa, okra and early sown cotton.