Recently, to advance the implementation of the Nine Initiatives for Science‑Enabled High‑Quality Development of the Cotton Industry in Kashgar Prefecture, a joint research team led by Researcher Song Guoli, Deputy Director of ICR‑CAAS, visited five major cotton‑producing counties in Kashgar: Jiashi, Yopurga, Bachu, Makit and Shache. The team included specialists from the Cotton Research Institute of Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Cotton Research Institute of Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural and Reclamation Science and the Kashgar Fiber Inspection Institute.

The team visited large-scale growers’ fields, seed multiplication bases, ginneries, fiber inspection agencies and spinning, weaving and printing & dyeing enterprises. Through field inspections and interviews with operators, they systematically investigated mid‑to‑late season field management at the peak boll stage, variety promotion, production and processing bottlenecks, and policy implementation, to map the full cotton industrial chain and identify key challenges.

A special seminar was held after the field survey. The team presented on-site findings, and participants exchanged views on late-stage field management, seed multiplication, processing equipment upgrading, extra-long staple cotton development and the control of exogenous sugar in cotton. Song Guoli stated that ICR‑CAAS will deepen institute-local cooperation, launch targeted research on cotton stickiness, accelerate the demonstration and extension of elite varieties, deliver tiered technical training, and shore up weak links along the whole chain. S&T innovation will underpin higher quality and efficiency for Kashgar’s cotton sector.

Shen Yunfeng, Party Secretary and Deputy Director of Kashgar Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, together with officials and specialists from the prefectural Science and Technology Bureau, Agricultural Technology Extension Center and Seed Industry Center, attended the seminar.