Cotton Genomics and Genetics 2025, Vol.16, No.4, 173-183 http://cropscipublisher.com/index.php/cgg 179 the way” thing. More importantly, if these agronomic methods can be combined with the information related to environmental adaptability in the genome, such as predicting in advance which soil and climate a certain variety performs better in, then cotton planting will no longer be a matter of “trying it out”, but “seeking it before planting”, and the carbon reduction effect will naturally be more stable. Figure 2 Suitability zoning maps for cotton cultivation in Xinjiang during 1990-2020 (Adopted from Zhu et al., 2023) 8.3 Measurable outcomes: reduced emissions, improved yield, and economic viability According to the results of life cycle assessment, cotton in Xinjiang has higher carbon emissions per mu of land and per kilogram of output than wheat and corn, mainly because more fertilizers and energy are used (Yang et al., 2025). However, in terms of economic benefits, cotton is still the most profitable of all major crops. Even in the process of trying to reduce emissions, cotton can still maintain a high level of profitability. Field measurements have found that if advanced irrigation methods and covering technologies are used, cotton fields can even become net carbon sinks during the critical growth period, that is, more carbon is absorbed than emitted, which is very helpful for carbon reduction goals (Bai et al., 2015). In order to make Xinjiang's cotton industry sustainable both environmentally and economically, it is necessary to continue to promote the combination of planting technology, agronomic improvement and genomic breeding. 9 Future Prospects and Research Directions 9.1 Advances in pan-genomics and multi-omics integration At present, the modeling method for studying cotton carbon balance is much more complicated than before. It is not just as simple as how much carbon is measured in the field and how much cotton is produced. Satellite images,
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