Special·Commentary
DU Xiaodong, ZHU Baolei, YUAN Mei, MENG Xiaoqian, SUN Siyuan
To serve the national strategy of ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin, and to promote the revitalization of inland cotton regions and enhance cotton industry quality and efficiency, the Jining Institute of Quality & Metrology Inspection in collaboration with multiple stakeholders, conducted a pilot project to monitor production processand and enhance the quality of cotton in the region from 2023 to 2024. The pilot project innovatively established a "government-industry-university-research-application" collaborative mechanism, leveraging three core measures (superior cultivar selection, equipment renovation and on-site monitoring and standard setting) to built a full-chain quality monitoring system for cotton and operationalize the "whole-chain standardization of cotton industry" model. The key outcomes are as follows. Firstly, Lumianyan 40 exhibited superior comprehensive quality, and its yield reached 351 kg per mu,while that of the control variety is 142 kg per mu. Among it, the proportion of white cotton in terms of color grade accounts for 81.6%, with an average length of 28.5 mm and an average length uniformity index of 82.8%. Secondly, three local standards of Shandong Province were formulated, and green, high-quality and efficient production technologies were promoted, achieving the effect of "three reductions and three increases". Finally, the methodology of "data-driven closed-loop optimization" was summarized. By collecting full-chain data, conducting correlation analysis of multiple factors, establishing quality maps, and reversely guiding production, core production elements such as superior varieties, daytime processing, and controlled dosage of defoliants were identified. In the future, the Jining Institute of Quality & Metrology Inspection will extend the monitoring network to more regions, promote the cross-regional dissemination of experience, and provide “Shandong experience” for improving the quality and efficiency of the national cotton industry.