In the cotton crop 10-12% of the world pesticide production are used.
These very high chemical inputs affect the ecology in the main product
ion areas considerably and often cause resistance of the major cotton
pests, which in turn require even more intense applications. Ln some a
reas cotton production was given up because pests were no longer contr
ollable and therefore the crop unprofitable. Recently, some farmers an
d organizations intended to produce cotton without application of agro
chemicals according to the standards of organic farming. For this obje
ctive specific farming practices were developed to ensure nutrient sup
ply and crop protection. Nevertheless, yields are generally lower than
for conventional cropping systems. Researcher were hardly active in t
his area so far; therefore the production practices and cropping syste
ms are based entirely on the knowledge and experiences of the farmers.