Cotton | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

Four species of cotton are grown for commercial fiber (lint) production. Gossypium arboreum L. and Gossypium herbaceum L. are grown in Africa and Asia. These produce lint of inferior quality. Gossypium barbadense is grown commercially in limited parts of the world and produces a lint of excellent quality, long and strong, that is used in high-quality garments. It is difficult to produce and is grown in limited quantities. Gossypium hirsutum is grown on most of the world's cotton acreage, producing a good quality fiber that is shorter and has less fiber strength than G. barbadense. The United States, India, China, Brazil, and Australia are major producers.

Cotton is unique since the fiber is an extension of cells of the seed coat instead of being derived from other plant parts, as flax and the other fiber crops are. Each cotton fiber is actually a single cell and is nature's purest form of cellulose. Unlike synthetic fibers, which are made from petroleum, cotton is a renewable resource. The fiber is used in textiles, high-quality paper, cellophane, and plastics. The seed and fiber (seed cotton) are harvested and processed in a gin where the fiber is removed from the seed. The seedis sold for livestock food for ruminant animals such as cattle. Seed is also processed to produce cottonseed oil for cooking and the meal is used as a source of protein for livestock. The fiber is graded for trash content, color, length, strength, and coarseness and generally sold to textile mills.

Before the invention of the cotton gin, the lint was so expensive due to the labor required to remove the lint from the seed that cotton garments were only for the very wealthy. With the invention of the gin, cotton became affordable for everyone. Cotton is a very labor-intensive crop. Slave labor was the principal means of production in many areas until more of the production steps were mechanized.

The cotton plant is a perennial tree that is grown as an annual plant since it is easily killed by freezing weather. The perennial nature of the plant makes it very difficult to grow. The crop can grow too large under good conditions and growth must be controlled with chemicals. The crop in many areas is killed with chemicals in order to facilitate harvest before adverse winter weather develops. Many of the production areas have serious insect problems requiring the use of several applications of insecticide. These problemsmade cotton one of the first plants to be a candidate for genetically engineered (manmade) insect-resistance genes to be incorporated in order to reduce the use of insecticides. The engineered resistance has been a tremendous success.

A specialty market exists for organically grown (produced without use of chemicals) cotton and naturally brown or green-colored lint. A very small acreage of organically grown cotton is being produced; production, however, is difficult due to severe weed and insect problems. Lint that is naturally white, brown, or green can be produced. The colored lint eliminates the need for artificial dyes.

Agriculture, Modern; Economic Importance of Plants; Fiber and Fiber Products.

Kohel, Russel J., and Charles F. Lewis, eds. Cotton. Madison, WI: American Society of Agronomy, 1984.

Mauney, Jack R., and James McD. Stewart, eds. Cotton Physiology. Memphis, TN: Cotton Foundation, 1986.

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