When to plant Cotton in Mali

Known here as coton

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 Mali, rain-fed and with irrigation
Measure	Rain-fed	With irrigation
Fit	Favourable
When to plant	9 Jun 2027 – 29 Jun 2027 opens in 36 weeks	21 Jan 2026 – 1 Jan 2027
Expected harvest	about 1.8 t/ha	about 3.7 t/ha
Harvest	From 6 Nov 2027 to 25 Jan 2028, 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	72%

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 9 Jun 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.

This season's rainfall outlook for Mali is close to normal, so these dates match the pattern the area usually follows.

Planting after 29 Jun 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.

What decides this in Mali

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

For cotton in Mali, 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 2027 season in Mali

Rainy seasons	One each year — one chance to plant, so timing carries it
When the rains are expected	June 2027 to October 2027
Rain in a typical year	About 517 mm in a typical farming district
Across its districts	From about 14 mm in the driest of 160 districts to about 1,082 mm in the wettest
This season's rain	Rain close to usual — plan around about 517 mm falling roughly when it always does
This season's heat	Hotter than usual — about +1.6 °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	4 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
67%	too dry for rain-fed cropping without irrigation; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season no rain-fed season · about 60 mm · July to September
26%	enough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 124 growing days · about 600 mm · June to October
4%	too dry for rain-fed cropping without irrigation; warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth no rain-fed season · about 10 mm
3%	enough rain for one full main crop; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 206 growing days · about 1,010 mm · April to November

last updated 30 September 2026 · from all 160 areas within it

Limited water holds back about 25% 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 Mali

Planting material	About 80,000 plants per hectare
Nitrogen (N)	About 50 kg per hectare
Phosphate (P₂O₅)	About 25 kg per hectare
Potash (K₂O)	About 54 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 — manageable

Grow Cotton with a plan, not a guess

Everything above describes Mali 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 Mali?

Mali rates as favourable for cotton.

When should I plant cotton in Mali?

Typically 9 Jun 2027 to 29 Jun 2027, forecast-adjusted.

Is this exact for my own field?

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