When to plant Cotton in Botswana

Cotton is grown for one thing: the soft white fibre — the lint — that grows wrapped around the seeds inside a pod called a boll.

Cotton in Botswana, rain-fed and with irrigation
Measure	Rain-fed	With irrigation
Fit	Favourable
When to plant	18 Nov 2026 – 27 Nov 2026 opens in 7 weeks	9 Aug 2026 – 7 Dec 2026
Expected harvest	about 1.3 t/ha	about 3.7 t/ha
Harvest	From 17 Apr 2027 to 25 Jun 2027, depending on the planting date
Ready to harvest	150–210 days after planting
Work it takes	91–187 days per hectare, by hand
Rain meets its needs	50%

Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.

If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 18 Nov 2026. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.

No seasonal forecast reaches Botswana yet, so these dates follow the rains it usually gets rather than this year's.

Planting after 27 Nov 2026 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.

What decides this in Botswana

Rain and temperature	96%
The soil	76%
The lie of the land	96%

For cotton in Botswana, the soil is the tightest of the three at 76%. This is the one you can actually move. Lime raises a sour soil, manure and compost lift what it holds, and both work within a season or two — money spent here changes the answer.

The 2026/27 season in Botswana

Rainy seasons	One each year — one chance to plant, so timing carries it
When the rains are expected	November 2026 to March 2027
Rain in a typical year	About 468 mm in a typical farming district
Across its districts	From about 296 mm in the driest of 28 districts to about 598 mm in the wettest
This season's rain	Leaning dry — January, February and December look short of rain. Plant at the early end of the window, favour quicker and more drought-tolerant crops, and keep moisture in the soil: mulch, and weed early.
This season's heat	Hotter than usual — about +2.1 °C over the growing months. Heat makes the same rain do less, so a dry spell bites sooner: do not plant late, and shade or mulch what you can.
What that supports	enough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season
Ground this covers	3 kinds of ground. The season below is one typical farming district's, not a figure for the whole of this area.

Agro-ecological zones covering this area
36%	enough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 112 growing days · about 430 mm · November to March
33%	too dry for rain-fed cropping without irrigation; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season no rain-fed season · about 340 mm · December to March
28%	too dry for rain-fed cropping without irrigation; warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth no rain-fed season · about 300 mm

last updated 18 September 2026 · from all 28 areas within it

Limited water holds back about 45% of yield here.

What cotton needs to grow here

Soil it likes	well-drained sandy loam, loam, clay loam or clay soil
Soil sourness (pH)	Happiest between pH 6.0 and 7.5
Spacing	90 cm between rows, 25 cm between plants
Feed it most with	nitrogen, potassium and boron

What it takes to grow cotton in Botswana

Planting material	About 80,000 plants per hectare
Nitrogen (N)	About 36 kg per hectare
Phosphate (P₂O₅)	About 18 kg per hectare
Potash (K₂O)	About 39 kg per hectare
In the shops	A basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established.
Hand work	91–187 days per hectare, by hand

These are the nutrients a cotton crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.

What to watch for

Pest/disease risk — manageableNot enough water in seasonLate-maturing — drought risk

Grow Cotton with a plan, not a guess

Everything above describes Botswana as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.

Or check your field first

Cotton in nearby districts

How to grow Cotton, step by step Land preparation to harvest — every task, in order

Frequently asked questions

Will cotton grow well in Botswana?

Botswana rates as favourable for cotton.

When should I plant cotton in Botswana?

Typically 18 Nov 2026 to 27 Nov 2026, typical season.

Is this exact for my own field?

No — these are readings taken across Botswana, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.