History of Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of
cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The plant is a shrub native to tropical and subtropical
regions around the world, including the Americas, Africa, India, and Pakistan. The fiber most
often is spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile, which is the most
widely used natural-fiber cloth in clothing today. The English name derives from the Arabic (al)
qutn

, which began to be used circa 1400. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in
seed dispersal. The greatest diversity of wild cotton species is found in Mexico, followed by
Australia and Africa.
Contents
1 History
o 1.1 Industrial revolution in Britain
o 1.2 Tangis cotton
2 Cultivation
o 2.1 Genetic modification
o 2.2 Organic production
3 Pests and weeds
4 Harvesting
5 Competition from synthetic fibers
6 Uses
7 International trade
o 7.1 Leading producer countries
o 7.2 Fair trade
o 7.3 Trade
8 Critical temperatures
9 British standard yarn measures
10 Fiber properties
11 Cotton genome
12 See also
13 References
14 Further reading
15 External links




History


Cotton plants as imagined and drawn by John Mandeville in the 14th century. Cotton fabrics
discovered in a cave near Tehuacn, Mexico have been dated to around 5800 B.C.E., although it
is difficult to know for certain due to fibre decay. Cotton was first cultivated in the Old World
7,000 years ago (5th4th millennia BC), by the inhabitants of the Indus Valley Civilization,
which covered a huge swath of the northwestern part of the South Asia, comprising today parts
of eastern Pakistan and northwestern India. The Indus cotton industry was well developed and
some methods used in cotton spinning and fabrication continued to be used until the modern
industrialization of India. Well before the Common Era, the use of cotton textiles had spread
from India to the Mediterranean and beyond.
Greeks and the Arabs were not familiar with cotton until the Wars of Alexander the Great, as his
contemporary Megasthenes told Seleucus I Nicator of "there being trees on which wool grows"
in "Indica".
According to the Columbia Encyclopedia, sixth edition:
Cotton has been spun, woven, and dyed since prehistoric times. It clothed the people of ancient
Pakistan, India, Egypt, and China. Hundreds of years before the Christian era, cotton textiles
were woven in India with matchless skill, and their use spread to the Mediterranean countries.
In Iran (Persia), the history of cotton dates back to the Achaemenid era (5th century BC);
however, there are few sources about the planting of cotton in pre-Islamic Iran. The planting of
cotton was common in Merv, Ray and Pars of Iran. In the poems of Persian poets, especially
Ferdowsi's Shahname, there are references to cotton ("panbe" in Persian). Marco Polo (13th
century) refers to the major products of Persia, including cotton. John Chardin, a French traveler
of 17th century, who had visited the Safavid Persia, has approved the vast cotton farms of Persia.
During the Han dynasty, cotton was grown by non chinese peoples in the southern Chinese
province of Yunnan.
In Peru, cultivation of the indigenous cotton species Gossypium barbadense was the backbone of
the development of coastal cultures, such as the Norte Chico, Moche and Nazca. Cotton was
grown upriver, made into nets and traded with fishing villages along the coast for large supplies
of fish. The Spanish who came to Mexico and Peru in the early 16th century found the people
growing cotton and wearing clothing made of it.
During the late medieval period, cotton became known as an imported fiber in northern Europe,
without any knowledge of how it was derived, other than that it was a plant; noting its
similarities to wool, people in the region could only imagine that cotton must be produced by
plant-borne sheep. John Mandeville, writing in 1350, stated as fact the now-preposterous belief:
"There grew there [India] a wonderful tree which bore tiny lambs on the endes of its branches.
These branches were so pliable that they bent down to allow the lambs to feed when they are
hungrie [sic]." (See Vegetable Lamb of Tartary.) This aspect is retained in the name for cotton in
many European languages, such as German Baumwolle, which translates as "tree wool" (Baum
means "tree"; Wolle means "wool"). By the end of the 16th century, cotton was cultivated
throughout the warmer regions in Asia and the Americas.


The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary
India's cotton-processing sector gradually declined during British expansion in India and the
establishment of colonial rule during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. This was largely due
to aggressive colonialist mercantile policies of the British East India Company, which made
cotton processing and manufacturing workshops in India uncompetitive. Indian markets were
increasingly forced to supply only raw cotton and were forced, by British-imposed law, to
purchase manufactured textiles from Britain.
Industrial revolution in Britain
The advent of the Industrial Revolution in Britain provided a great boost to cotton manufacture,
as textiles emerged as Britain's leading export. In 1738, Lewis Paul and John Wyatt, of
Birmingham, England, patented the roller spinning machine, and the flyer-and-bobbin system for
drawing cotton to a more even thickness using two sets of rollers that traveled at different
speeds. Later, the invention of the spinning jenny in 1764 and Richard Arkwright's spinning
frame (based on the roller spinning machine) in 1769 enabled British weavers to produce cotton
yarn and cloth at much higher rates. From the late 18th century onwards, the British city of
Manchester acquired the nickname "Cottonopolis" due to the cotton industry's omnipresence
within the city, and Manchester's role as the heart of the global cotton trade. Production capacity
in Britain and the United States was improved by the invention of the cotton gin by the American
Eli Whitney in 1793. Improving technology and increasing control of world markets allowed
British traders to develop a commercial chain in which raw cotton fibers were (at first) purchased
from colonial plantations, processed into cotton cloth in the mills of Lancashire, and then
exported on British ships to captive colonial markets in West Africa, India, and China (via
Shanghai and Hong Kong).
By the 1840s, India was no longer capable of supplying the vast quantities of cotton fibers
needed by mechanized British factories, while shipping bulky, low-price cotton from India to
Britain was time-consuming and expensive. This, coupled with the emergence of American
cotton as a superior type (due to the longer, stronger fibers of the two domesticated native
American species, Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium barbadense), encouraged British traders
to purchase cotton from plantations in the United States and the Caribbean. By the mid 19th
century, "King Cotton" had become the backbone of the southern American economy. In the
United States, cultivating and harvesting cotton became the leading occupation of slaves.
During the American Civil War, American cotton exports slumped due to a Union blockade on
Southern ports, also because of a strategic decision by the Confederate government to cut
exports, hoping to force Britain to recognize the Confederacy or enter the war, prompting the
main purchasers of cotton, Britain and France to turn to Egyptian cotton. British and French
traders invested heavily in cotton plantations and the Egyptian government of Viceroy Isma'il
took out substantial loans from European bankers and stock exchanges. After the American Civil
War ended in 1865, British and French traders abandoned Egyptian cotton and returned to cheap
American exports, sending Egypt into a deficit spiral that led to the country declaring bankruptcy
in 1876, a key factor behind Egypt's annexation by the British Empire in 1882.


Prisoners farming cotton under the trusty system in Parchman Farm, Mississippi - 1911


Picking cotton in Georgia, United States, in 1943
During this time, cotton cultivation in the British Empire, especially India, greatly increased to
replace the lost production of the American South. Through tariffs and other restrictions, the
British government discouraged the production of cotton cloth in India; rather, the raw fiber was
sent to England for processing. The Indian Mahatma Gandhi described the process:
1. English people buy Indian cotton in the field, picked by Indian labor at seven cents a day,
through an optional monopoly.
2. This cotton is shipped on British ships, a three-week journey across the Indian Ocean,
down the Red Sea, across the Mediterranean, through Gibraltar, across the Bay of Biscay
and the Atlantic Ocean to London. One hundred per cent profit on this freight is regarded
as small.
3. The cotton is turned into cloth in Lancashire. You pay shilling wages instead of Indian
pennies to your workers. The English worker not only has the advantage of better wages,
but the steel companies of England get the profit of building the factories and machines.
Wages; profits; all these are spent in England.
4. The finished product is sent back to India at European shipping rates, once again on
British ships. The captains, officers, sailors of these ships, whose wages must be paid, are
English. The only Indians who profit are a few lascars who do the dirty work on the boats
for a few cents a day.
5. The cloth is finally sold back to the kings and landlords of India who got the money to
buy this expensive cloth out of the poor peasants of India who worked at seven cents a
day. (Fisher 1932 pp 154156)
In the United States, Southern cotton provided capital for the continuing development of the
North. The cotton produced by enslaved African Americans not only helped the South, but also
enriched Northern merchants. Much of the Southern cotton was transshipped through the
northern ports.
Cotton remained a key crop in the Southern economy after emancipation and the end of the Civil
War in 1865. Across the South, sharecropping evolved, in which free black farmers and landless
white farmers worked on white-owned cotton plantations of the wealthy in return for a share of
the profits. Cotton plantations required vast labor forces to hand-pick cotton, and it was not until
the 1950s that reliable harvesting machinery was introduced into the South (prior to this, cotton-
harvesting machinery had been too clumsy to pick cotton without shredding the fibers). During
the early 20th century, employment in the cotton industry fell, as machines began to replace
laborers, and the South's rural labor force dwindled during the First and Second World Wars.
Today, cotton remains a major export of the southern United States, and a majority of the world's
annual cotton crop is of the long-staple American variety.
Tangis Cotton


Fermn Tangis poses with an example of the "Tangis Cotton"
In 1901, Peru's cotton industry suffered because of a fungus plague caused by a plant disease
known as "cotton wilt" or, more correctly, "fusarium wilt", caused by the fungus Fusarium
vasinfectum. The plant disease, which spread throughout Peru, entered plant's roots and worked
its way up the stem until the plant was completely dried up. Fermn Tangis, a Puerto Rican
agriculturist who lived in Peru, studied some species of the plant that were affected by the
disease to a lesser extent and experimented in germination with the seeds of various cotton
plants. In 1911, after 10 years of experimenting and failures, Tangis was able to develop a seed
which produced a superior cotton plant resistant to the disease. The seeds produced a plant that
had a 40% longer (between 29 mm and 33 mm) and thicker fiber that did not break easily and
required little water. The Tangis cotton, as it became known, is the variety which is preferred
by the Peruvian national textile industry. It constituted 75% of all the Peruvian cotton
production, both for domestic use and apparel exports. The Tangis cotton crop was estimated at
225,000 bales that year.
Cultivation


Cotton plowing in Togo, 1928


Harvested cotton in Tennessee (2006)


Cotton modules in Australia (2007)
Successful cultivation of cotton requires a long frost-free period, plenty of sunshine, and a
moderate rainfall, usually from 600 to 1200 mm (24 to 48 inches). Soils usually need to be fairly
heavy, although the level of nutrients does not need to be exceptional. In general, these
conditions are met within the seasonally dry tropics and subtropics in the Northern and Southern
hemispheres, but a large proportion of the cotton grown today is cultivated in areas with less
rainfall that obtain the water from irrigation. Production of the crop for a given year usually
starts soon after harvesting the preceding autumn. Planting time in spring in the Northern
hemisphere varies from the beginning of February to the beginning of June. The area of the
United States known as the South Plains is the largest contiguous cotton-growing region in the
world. While dryland (non-irrigated) cotton is successfully grown in this region, consistent yields
are only produced with heavy reliance on irrigation water drawn from the Ogallala Aquifer.
Since cotton is somewhat salt and drought tolerant, this makes it an attractive crop for arid and
semiarid regions. As water resources get tighter around the world, economies that rely on it face
difficulties and conflict, as well as potential environmental problems. For example, improper
cropping and irrigation practices have led to desertification in areas of Uzbekistan, where cotton
is a major export. In the days of the Soviet Union, the Aral Sea was tapped for agricultural
irrigation, largely of cotton, and now salination is widespread.
Cotton can also be cultivated to have colors other than the yellowish off-white typical of modern
commercial cotton fibers. Naturally colored cotton can come in red, green, and several shades of
brown.

Genetic modification
Genetically modified (GM) cotton was developed to reduce the heavy reliance on pesticides. The
bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) naturally produces a chemical harmful only to a small
fraction of insects, most notably the larvae of moths and butterflies, beetles, and flies, and
harmless to other forms of life. The gene coding for Bt toxin has been inserted into cotton,
causing cotton to produce this natural insecticide in its tissues. In many regions, the main pests in
commercial cotton are lepidopteran larvae, which are killed by the Bt protein in the transgenic
cotton they eat. This eliminates the need to use large amounts of broad-spectrum insecticides to
kill lepidopteran pests (some of which have developed pyrethroid resistance). This spares natural
insect predators in the farm ecology and further contributes to noninsecticide pest management.
Bt cotton is ineffective against many cotton pests, however, such as plant bugs, stink bugs, and
aphids; depending on circumstances it may still be desirable to use insecticides against these. A
2006 study done by Cornell researchers, the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy and the
Chinese Academy of Science on Bt cotton farming in China found that after seven years these
secondary pests that were normally controlled by pesticide had increased, necessitating the use of
pesticides at similar levels to non-Bt cotton and causing less profit for farmers because of the
extra expense of GM seeds. However a more recent 2009 study by the Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Stanford University and Rutgers University refutes this. They concluded that the GM
cotton effectively controlled bollworm. The secondary pests were mostly miridae (plant bugs)
whose increase was related to local temperature and rainfall and only continued to increase in
half the villages studied. Moreover, the increase in insecticide use for the control of these
secondary insects was far smaller than the reduction in total insecticide use due to Bt cotton
adoption. The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA)
said that, worldwide, GM cotton was planted on an area of 16 million hectares in 2009. This was
49% of the worldwide total area planted in cotton. The U.S. cotton crop was 93% GM in 2010
and the Chinese cotton crop was 68% GM in 2009.
The initial introduction of GM cotton proved to be a huge success in Australia - the yields were
equivalent to the no transgenic varieties and the crop used much less pesticide to produce (85%
reduction). The subsequent introduction of a second variety of GM cotton led to increases in GM
cotton production until 95% of the Australian cotton crop was GM in 2009.
Cotton has also been genetically modified for resistance to glyphosate (marketed as Roundup in
North America), an inexpensive and highly effective, but broad-spectrum herbicide. Originally,
it was only possible to achieve glyphosate resistance when the plant was young, but with the
development of Roundup Ready Flex, it is possible to achieve glyphosate resistance much later
in the growing season.
GM cotton acreage in India continues to grow at a rapid rate, increasing from 50,000 hectares in
2002 to 8.4 million hectares in 2009. The total cotton area in India was 9.6 million hectares (the
largest in the world or, about 35% of world cotton area), so GM cotton was grown on 87% of the
cotton area in 2009. This makes India the country with the largest area of GM cotton in the
world, surpassing China (3.7 million hectares in 2009). The major reasons for this increase is a
combination of increased farm income ($225/ha) and a reduction in pesticide use to control the
cotton bollworm.
Cotton has gossypol, a toxin that makes it inedible. However, scientists have silenced the gene
that produces the toxin, making it a potential food crop.
Organic production
Organic cotton is generally understood as cotton, from plants not genetically modified, that is
certified to be grown without the use of any synthetic agricultural chemicals, such as fertilizers
or pesticides. Its production also promotes and enhances biodiversity and biological cycles.
United States cotton plantations are required to enforce the National Organic Program (NOP).
This institution determines the allowed practices for pest control, growing, fertilizing, and
handling of organic crops. As of 2007, 265,517 bales of organic cotton were produced in 24
countries, and worldwide production was growing at a rate of more than 50% per year.
Pests and weeds


Hoeing a cotton field to remove weeds, Greene County, Georgia, USA, 1941


Female and nymph Cotton Harlequin Bug.
The cotton industry relies heavily on chemicals, such as herbicides, fertilizers and insecticides,
although a very small number of farmers are moving toward an organic model of production, and
organic cotton products are now available for purchase at limited locations. These are popular for
baby clothes and diapers. Under most definitions, organic products do not use genetic
engineering.
Historically, in North America, one of the most economically destructive pests in cotton
production has been the boll weevil. Due to the US Department of Agriculture's highly
successful Boll Weevil Eradication Program (BWEP), this pest has been eliminated from cotton
in most of the United States. This program, along with the introduction of genetically engineered
Bt cotton (which contains a bacterial gene that codes for a plant-produced protein that is toxic to
a number of pests such as cotton bollworm and pink bollworm), has allowed a reduction in the
use of synthetic insecticides.
Other significant global pests of cotton include the pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella; the
chili thrips, Scirtothrips dorsalis; the cotton seed bug, Oxycarenus hyalinipennis; the tarnish
plant bug, Lygus lineolaris; and the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda.
Harvesting


Offloading freshly harvested cotton into a module builder in Texas; previously built modules can
be seen in the background


Cotton being picked by hand in India, 2005.
Most cotton in the United States, Europe, and Australia is harvested mechanically, either by a
cotton picker, a machine that removes the cotton from the boll without damaging the cotton
plant, or by a cotton stripper, which strips the entire boll off the plant. Cotton strippers are used
in regions where it is too windy to grow picker varieties of cotton, and usually after application
of a chemical defoliant or the natural defoliation that occurs after a freeze. Cotton is a perennial
crop in the tropics, and without defoliation or freezing, the plant will continue to grow.
Cotton continues to be picked by hand in developing countries.

Competition from synthetic fibers
The era of manufactured fibers began with the development of rayon in France in the 1890s.
Rayon is derived from a natural cellulose and cannot be considered synthetic, but requires
extensive processing in a manufacturing process, and led the less expensive replacement of more
naturally derived materials. A succession of new synthetic fibers were introduced by the
chemicals industry in the following decades. Acetate in fiber form was developed in 1924.
Nylon, the first fiber synthesized entirely from petrochemicals, was introduced as a sewing
thread by DuPont in 1936, followed by DuPont's acrylic in 1944. Some garments were created
from fabrics based on these fibers, such as women's hosiery from nylon, but it was not until the
introduction of polyester into the fiber marketplace in the early 1950s that the market for cotton
came under threat. The rapid uptake of polyester garments in the 1960s caused economic
hardship in cotton-exporting economies, especially in Central American countries, such as
Nicaragua, where cotton production had boomed tenfold between 1950 and 1965 with the advent
of cheap chemical pesticides. Cotton production recovered in the 1970s, but crashed to pre-1960
levels in the early 1990s.
Beginning as a self-help program in the mid-1960s, the Cotton Research and Promotion Program
(CRPP) was organized by U.S. cotton producers in response to cotton's steady decline in market
share. At that time, producers voted to set up a per-bale assessment system to fund the program,
with built-in safeguards to protect their investments. With the passage of the Cotton Research
and Promotion Act of 1966, the program joined forces and began battling synthetic competitors
and re-establishing markets for cotton. Today, the success of this program has made cotton the
best-selling fiber in the U.S. and one of the best-selling fibers in the world.
Administered by the Cotton Board and conducted by Cotton Incorporated, the CRPP works to
greatly increase the demand for and profitability of cotton through various research and
promotion activities. It is funded by U.S. cotton producers and importers.
Uses
Cotton is used to make a number of textile products. These include terrycloth for highly
absorbent bath towels and robes; denim for blue jeans; chambray, popularly used in the
manufacture of blue work shirts (from which we get the term "blue-collar"); and corduroy,
seersucker, and cotton twill. Socks, underwear, and most T-shirts are made from cotton. Bed
sheets often are made from cotton. Cotton also is used to make yarn used in crochet and knitting.
Fabric also can be made from recycled or recovered cotton that otherwise would be thrown away
during the spinning, weaving, or cutting process. While many fabrics are made completely of
cotton, some materials blend cotton with other fibers, including rayon and synthetic fibers such
as polyester. It can either be used in knitted or woven fabrics, as it can be blended with elastine
to make a stretchier thread for knitted fabrics, and apparel such as stretch jeans.
In addition to the textile industry, cotton is used in fishnets, coffee filters, tents, gunpowder (see
nitrocellulose), cotton paper, and in bookbinding. The first Chinese paper was made of cotton
fiber. Fire hoses were once made of cotton.
The cottonseed which remains after the cotton is ginned is used to produce cottonseed oil, which,
after refining, can be consumed by humans like any other vegetable oil. The cottonseed meal that
is left generally is fed to ruminant livestock; the gossypol remaining in the meal is toxic to
monogastric animals. Cottonseed hulls can be added to dairy cattle rations for roughage. During
the American slavery period, cotton root bark was used in folk remedies as an abortifacient, that
is, to induce a miscarriage.
Cotton linters are fine, silky fibers which adhere to the seeds of the cotton plant after ginning.
These curly fibers typically are less than 1/8 in (3 mm) long. The term also may apply to the
longer textile fiber staple lint as well as the shorter fuzzy fibers from some upland species.
Linters are traditionally used in the manufacture of paper and as a raw material in the
manufacture of cellulose. In the UK, linters are referred to as "cotton wool". This can also be a
refined product (absorbent cotton in U.S. usage) which has medical, cosmetic and many other
practical uses. The first medical use of cotton wool was by Dr. Joseph Sampson Gamgee at the
Queen's Hospital (later the General Hospital) in Birmingham, England.
Shiny cotton is a processed version of the fiber that can be made into cloth resembling satin for
shirts and suits. However, it is hydrophobic (does not absorb water easily), which makes it unfit
for use in bath and dish towels (although examples of these made from shiny cotton are seen).
The term Egyptian cotton refers to the extra long staple cotton grown in Egypt and favored for
the luxury and upmarket brands worldwide. During the U.S. Civil War, with heavy European
investments, Egyptian-grown cotton became a major alternate source for British textile mills.
Egyptian cotton is more durable and softer than American Pima cotton, which is why it is more
expensive. Pima cotton is American cotton that is grown in the southwestern states of the U.S.
International trade

Worldwide cotton production

Cottonseed output in 2005
The largest producers of cotton, currently (2009), are China and India, with annual production of
about 34 million bales and 24 million bales, respectively; most of this production is consumed by
their respective textile industries. The largest exporters of raw cotton are the United States, with
sales of $4.9 billion, and Africa, with sales of $2.1 billion. The total international trade is
estimated to be $12 billion. Africa's share of the cotton trade has doubled since 1980. Neither
area has a significant domestic textile industry, textile manufacturing having moved to
developing nations in Eastern and South Asia such as India and China. In Africa, cotton is grown
by numerous small holders. Dunavant Enterprises, based in Memphis, Tennessee, is the leading
cotton broker in Africa, with hundreds of purchasing agents. It operates cotton gins in Uganda,
Mozambique, and Zambia. In Zambia, it often offers loans for seed and expenses to the 180,000
small farmers who grow cotton for it, as well as advice on farming methods. Cargill also
purchases cotton in Africa for export.
The 25,000 cotton growers in the United States of America are heavily subsidized at the rate of
$2 billion per year. The future of these subsidies is uncertain and has led to anticipatory
expansion of cotton brokers' operations in Africa. Dunavant expanded in Africa by buying out
local operations. This is only possible in former British colonies and Mozambique; former
French colonies continue to maintain tight monopolies, inherited from their former colonialist
masters, on cotton purchases at low fixed prices.
Leading producer countries
Top ten cotton producers 2013
(480-pound bales)
People's Republic of China 33.0 million bales
India 27.0 million bales
United States 18.0 million bales
Pakistan 10.3 million bales
Brazil 9.3 million bales
Uzbekistan 4.6 million bales
Australia 4.2 million bales
Turkey 2.8 million bales
Turkmenistan 1.6 million bales
Greece 1.4 million bales
The five leading exporters of cotton in 2011 are (1) the United States, (2) India, (3) Brazil, (4)
Australia, and (5) Uzbekistan. The largest nonproducing importers are Korea, Taiwan, Russia,
Hong Kong and Japan.
In India, the states of Maharashtra (26.63%), Gujarat (17.96%) and Andhra Pradesh (13.75%)
and also Madhya Pradesh are the leading cotton producing states,
[38]
these states have a
predominantly tropical wet and dry climate.
In Pakistan, cotton is grown predominantly in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh. The leading
city in cotton production is the Punjabi city of Faisalabad which is also leading in textiles within
Pakistan. The Punjab has a tropical wet and dry climate throughout the year therefore enhancing
the growth of cotton.
In the United States, the state of Texas led in total production as of 2004, while the state of
California had the highest yield per acre.
Fair trade
Cotton is an enormously important commodity throughout the world. However, many farmers in
developing countries receive a low price for their produce, or find it difficult to compete with
developed countries.
This has led to an international dispute (see United States Brazil cotton dispute):
On 27 September 2002, Brazil requested consultations with the US regarding prohibited and
actionable subsidies provided to US producers, users and/or exporters of upland cotton, as well
as legislation, regulations, statutory instruments and amendments thereto providing such
subsidies (including export credits), grants, and any other assistance to the US producers, users
and exporters of upland cotton. On 8 September 2004, the Panel Report recommended that the
United States "withdraw" export credit guarantees and payments to domestic users and exporters,
and "take appropriate steps to remove the adverse effects or withdraw" the mandatory price-
contingent subsidy measures.
In addition to concerns over subsidies, the cotton industries of some countries are criticized for
employing child labor and damaging workers' health by exposure to pesticides used in
production. The Environmental Justice Foundation has campaigned against the prevalent use of
forced child and adult labor in cotton production in Uzbekistan, the world's third largest cotton
exporter. The international production and trade situation has led to "fair trade" cotton clothing
and footwear, joining a rapidly growing market for organic clothing, fair fashion or "ethical
fashion". The fair trade system was initiated in 2005 with producers from Cameroon, Mali and
Senegal.
Trade
Cotton is bought and sold by investors and price speculators as a tradable commodity on 2
different stock exchanges in the United States of America .
Cotton futures contracts are traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX)
under the ticker symbol TT. They are delivered every year in March, May, July, October,
and December.
Cotton #2 futures contracts are traded on the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) under
the ticker symbol CT. They are delivered every year in March, May, July, October, and
December.
Critical temperatures
Favorable travel temperature range: below 25C (77F)
Optimum travel temperature: 21C (70F)
Glow temperature: 205C (401F)
Fire point: 210C (410F)
Autoignition temperature: 407C (765F)
Autoignition temperature (for oily cotton): 120C (248F)
Cotton dries out, becomes hard and brittle and loses all elasticity at temperatures above 25C
(77F). Extended exposure to light causes similar problems.
A temperature range of 25C (77F) to 35C (95F) is the optimal range for mold development.
At temperatures below 0C (32F), rotting of wet cotton stops. Damaged cotton is sometimes
stored at these temperatures to prevent further deterioration.
British standard yarn measures
1 thread = 55 inches (about 137 cm)
1 skein or rap = 80 threads (120 yards or about 109 m)
1 hank = 7 skeins (840 yards or about 768 m)
1 spindle = 18 hanks (15,120 yards or about 13.826 km)
Fiber properties
Property Evaluation
Shape
Fairly uniform in width, 12-20 micrometers; length varies
from 1 cm to 6 cm ( to 2 inches); typical length is
2.2 cm to 3.3 cm ( to 1 inches).
Luster High
Tenacity (strength)
Dry
Wet

3.0-5.0 g/d
3.3-6.0 g/d
Resiliency Low
Density 1.54-1.56 g/cm
Moisture absorption
raw: conditioned
saturation
mercerized: conditioned
saturation

8.5%
15-25%
8.5-10.3%
15-27%+
Dimensional stability Good
Resistance to
acids
alkali
organic solvents
sunlight
microorganisms
insects

damage, weaken fibers
resistant; no harmful effects
high resistance to most
Prolonged exposure weakens fibers.
Mildew and rot-producing bacteria damage fibers.
Silverfish damage fibers.
Thermal reactions
to heat
to flame

Decomposes after prolonged exposure to temperatures of
150C or over.
Burns readily.


Cotton fibers viewed under a scanning electron microscope
The chemical composition of cotton is as follows:
cellulose 91.00%
water 7.85%
protoplasm, pectins 0.55%
waxes, fatty substances 0.40%
mineral salts 0.20%
Cotton genome

The section Cotton genome may be too technical for most readers to understand. Please
improve this section to make it understandable to non-experts, without removing the technical
details. (January 2011)
A public genome sequencing effort of cotton was initiated in 2007 by a consortium of public
researchers. They agreed on a strategy to sequence the genome of cultivated, tetraploid cotton.
"Tetraploid" means that cultivated cotton actually has two separate genomes within its nucleus,
referred to as the A and D genomes. The sequencing consortium first agreed to sequence the D-
genome relative of cultivated cotton (G. raimondii, a wild Central American cotton species)
because of its small size and limited number of repetitive elements. It is nearly one-third the
number of bases of tetraploid cotton (AD), and each chromosome is only present once. The A
genome of G. arboreum would be sequenced next. Its genome is roughly twice the size of G.
raimondii's. Part of the difference in size between the two genomes is the amplification of
retrotransposons (GORGE). Once both diploid genomes are assembled, then research could
begin sequencing the actual genomes of cultivated cotton varieties. This strategy is out of
necessity; if one were to sequence the tetraploid genome without model diploid genomes, the
euchromatic DNA sequences of the AD genomes would co-assemble and the repetitive elements
of AD genomes would assembly independently into A and D sequences respectively. Then there
would be no way to untangle the mess of AD sequences without comparing them to their diploid
counterparts.
The public sector effort continues with the goal to create a high-quality, draft genome sequence
from reads generated by all sources. The public-sector effort has generated Sanger reads of
BACs, fosmids, and plasmids as well as 454 reads. These later types of reads will be
instrumental in assembling an initial draft of the D genome. In 2010, two companies (Monsanto
and Illumina), completed enough Illumina sequencing to cover the D genome of G. raimondii
about 50x. They announced that they would donate their raw reads to the public. This public
relations effort gave them some recognition for sequencing the cotton genome. Once the D
genome is assembled from all of this raw material, it will undoubtedly assist in the assembly of
the AD genomes of cultivated varieties of cotton, but a lot of hard work remains.
























WHAT IS COTTON?

Cotton, belonging to a family that includes hibiscus and okra, produces a natural vegetable fiber
used in the manufacture of cloth. Cotton produces sweet nectar that attracts a variety of
destructive insect pests, including the boll weevil, bollworm, armyworm, and the red spider. In
addition to insect pests, there is also a very destructive fungus, called the wilt that attacks the
root system of the cotton plant.

HISTORY OF COTTON GINNING
The cotton gin, invented in 1793 by Eli Whitney, was designed to separate raw cotton fibers
from seeds and other foreign materials prior to baling and marketing. The design was so efficient
that it remains virtually unchanged to the present day.
American Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin, a device that rapidly and effectively removes seeds
from cotton fiber. This task had previously been done by hand, making fiber processing slow and
expensive. The invention will help spur expansion of the cotton industry in the southern United
States. The Souths booming cotton economy in turn will increase the reliance on slaves,
owing to the labor-intensive character of cotton harvesting.


Although the invention of the cotton gin changed history, its inventor, Eli Whitney, did not reap
much of a profit. The gin made cotton cleaning so efficient that the crop became a primary
enterprise for the South. However, patent disputes and supply problems kept Whitney from
successfully producing the cotton gin. His later venture into arms manufacturing was more
fruitful, and Whitney became a strong promoter of mass production and interchangeable parts.

HISTORY & BACKGROUND OF COTTON GINNING IN PAKISTAN:

After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the cotton Ginning Industry in Pakistan had a
desolate look of misery due to the migration of Hindus and Sikh owners who had left Pakistan
not only with the know-how but also with the most of the parts of the ginning machinery to
India. The Pakistani took over the industry mostly by allotment as evacuee property and tried to
operate the factories with whatever machinery was available. This practice continued from 1947
to 1950. During this period the provincial government came out with Punjab and Bahawlapur
Cotton Act 1947 and tried to regulate working condition of ginning factories through Cotton
Inspectors.

In 1960, the cotton ginning factories were transferred from the allotters to the new buyers of the
factories. The new owner of the factories braved the situation and with the best of their abilities
and available resources, tried their best to increase the efficiency of ginning preparation and
standardization of lint quality-wise and grade wise in Pakistan. The ginning industry has
mushroomed in the cotton growing area of Pakistan without adequate regulations. Cotton control
act of Punjab and Sindh from the 40s era have been continuing without any significant
amendments and there is a need to update most of the industry is in the hand of local traders who
have upgraded their enterprise from mandi commission agent operations or cotton intermediary
trading by installing saw gins.

There are few old ginning families in Sindh and Punjab whose next generation have continued
with the industry. Ginning activity is more entrepreneurial trading than a processing activity,
since the ginner has to play with the market risks of lint and cotton seed prices.

DESCRIPTION OF PRODUCT

Cotton is a major world fiber crop. It is grown under a very broad range of climates, soils and
cultural practices. Prior to the introduction of man-made artificial fibers, it was only the raw
material from which human clothing and other necessary textiles were manufactured. Cotton is
the main cash crop and Pakistan is the fourth largest cotton producer in the world. The largest
cotton producing country is China followed by USA, India and Pakistan. However the current
demand for cotton exceeds supply and Pakistan meet a part of its raw cotton requirement through
imports. It produced about 14 million bales of lint (PCGA report) and 780 kg of lint per hectare.
Cotton provides raw material to 450 textile mills, 1221 ginning factories and 5000 oil mills.
Approximately 65 per cent of Pakistan's annual export income comes from textile sector.
Similarly other industries, such as pharmaceutical, soap, chemical and feed industries also rely
on cotton by-products.

Besides this, cotton is an occupation of 1.5 million farming families and provides job to 50-54
per cent of labor force. Therefore cotton is known as the life blood of Pakistan economy.

GINNING UNITS IN KHANEWAL

There are 156 Ginning units out of which 149 unit are currently operating in the Cotton Ginning
Cluster Khanewal.

GINNING PRODUCTION PROCESS AT KHANEWAL

The cotton ginning is performed in Khanewal between September and March. Once harvested,
seed cotton might be directly sold to the ginner, though it is generally going through one or two
middlemens hands before it eventually reaches the ginnery gate. The brief production process
flow of cotton ginning is as follows:
farmer/producer

cotton
cotton ginner
seed
oil presser
seed cake
seed oil
lint
spinner
yarn
COTTON GINNING PRODUCTION FLOW






























RAW MATERIALS AVAILABILITY AND REQUIREMENTS

Raw cotton is the main raw material for the ginning industry. Rahim-Yar-Khan is at the top in
production of cotton in Pakistan. Cotton is mainly raised in irrigates area on the alluvial plains of
the Indus river, sowing being performed in March-April for the Sindh province and in May-June
for the Punjab where 80% of the total crop is planted. Harvesting is achieved from August to
February.
Cotton Products

Species
A few species are grown commercially; these range from a small tree of Asia, to the common
American Upland cotton, a low, multi branched shrubthat is grown as an annual. Another species
includes the long-fiberEgyptian and Sea Island cottons botanically derived from the
Egyptianspecies brought to the United States about 1900. Sea Island cotton thrivesin the unique
climate of the Sea Islands, located off the southeasterncoast of the United States, and on the
islands of the West Indies such asBarbados. As with Egyptian cotton, the fiber is white and
lustrous but itsfiber length is longer than that of any other type of cotton, which permitsthe
spinning of extremely fine yarns. Pima, originally called American-Egyptian cotton, is a hybrid
type. It is the only variety of long-fiber cottonnow grown in commercially significant quantities
in the United States,where it is cultivated under irrigation in the Southwest.

Foot Steps
It is almost impossible to determine the original habitats of the variousspecies of cotton.
Scientists have determined fiber and boll fragmentsfrom the Tehuacn Valley of Mexico to be
about 7000 years old. Theplant has certainly been grown and used in India for at least 5000
yearsand probably for much longer. Cotton was used also by the ancientChinese, Egyptians, and
North and South Americans. It was one of the earliest crops grown by European settlers, having
been planted at the Jamestown colony in 1607.Cotton was the most important crop in South
before the American CivilWar (1861-1865). Slaves usually worked all day picking cotton for
theirmasters while overseers watched from their horses.


Role of cotton in Pakistan
Pakistan is the fifth largest producer of cotton in the world, the thirdlargest exporter of raw
cotton, the fourth largest consumer of cotton, andthe largest exporter of cotton yarn. 1.3 million
Farmers (out of a total of 5million) cultivate cotton over 3 million hectares, covering 15 per cent
of the cultivable area in the country. Cotton and cotton products contributeabout 10 per cent to
GDP and 55 per cent to the foreign exchangeearnings of the country. Taken as a whole, between
30 and 40 per cent of the cotton ends up as domestic consumption of final products.
Theremaining is exported as raw cotton, yarn, cloth, and garments.Cotton production supports
Pakistans largest industrial sector, comprisingsome 400 textile mills, 7 million spindles, 27,000
looms in the mill sector(including 15,000 shuttle less looms), over 250,000 looms in the non-
millsector, 700 knitwear units, 4,000 garment units (with 200,000 sewingmachines), 650 dyeing
and finishing units (with finishing capacity of 1,150million square meters per year), nearly 1,000
ginneries, 300 oil expellers,and 15,000 to 20,000 indigenous, small scale oil expellers (kohl us).
It isby any measure Pakistans most important economic sector. Notsurprisingly, government
policy has generally been used to maintain astable and often relatively low domestic price of
cotton, especially since

CottonProduction in Pakistan
Almightly Allah blessedPakistan with extraordinary cotton crop in 2011-12. Despite of
floods andsevere rains in Punjab and Sindh, the production remained as high as 13.3
millionbales (170kg each), 5% more than the last assessment of 12.59 million bales
byCotton Crop Assessment Committee (CCAC). The high production is
mainlyattributed to extraordinary high cotton prices during 2010-11, that became
asource of inspiration for high input usage, and better management of the crop.Nature
favored with low Cotton Leaf Curl Virus (CLCV) disease and mealy bugincidence.
Although floods took a toll of about 2-2.5 million bales but thecountry managed to
sustain a reasonably good cotton production. Deterioratedquality due to non-stop rains
during boll opening stage of the cotton and highproduction affected the market badly.
Farmers expecting last years high priceshave to face entirely different situation.
The last years productionremained a source for projecting next years crop volume and
some exaggeratedfigures are being quoted by different economic analytical forums
without evaluatingthe picture holistically. A report published in April 2012, by
GlobalAgriculture Information Network (GAIN), under Foreign Agriculture Services
andUnited Agriculture Department of Agriculture projected Pakistans
cottonproduction for the year 2012-13 as 10% increase in area and production.
Theauthor forecasted the Pakistans cotton cultivation on 3.3 million ha andproduction
as 11million bales (480 lbs per bale) equivalent to 14.1 millionbales (170 kg). The report
also stated that GOP has approved 11 biotech and 3non-biotech cotton varieties for
general cultivation in the country. The reportapparently is not based on any authentic
source or data. Such premature projectionsmay damage the cotton market, shake
investors confidence create bias estimatesof global cotton stocks. Ministry of Textile
Industry can not endorse suchreports.
Looking at the groundrealities, the Government of Punjab has approved 8 and not 11
new biotech and 6(not 3) non biotech varieties. The biotech varieties approved are with
Mon 531gene for commercial cultivation in the province subjected to
thecommercialization authentication from the National Bio-safety Committee.
Theauthentication is still awaited.
Early sowing in Punjab,being the main cotton belt, has achieved 21% less than last year,
whereas, inSindh sowing is 2% lagging behind the area sown in the same period in
2011-12.The Indus River System Authority has already declared the water shortage by
21%till the end of June 2012. The availability of certified seed of approvedcotton
varieties is not as much as last year. The prevalence of CLCV is uncertain and if weather
becomes favorable toCLCV, the disease can outbreak and cause damage. Fertilizer
availability willremain satisfactory; however pesticides availability could become an
issue as APTACmeeting has not been convened for more than 2 years due to shifting
the subjectin different ministries after the devolution of ministry of Food Agriculture.
Afterevaluating all factors, and not being pessimistic, achieving the last yearstarget
seems a difficult task.
After the defunct FederalCommittee on Agriculture (FCA) of the devolved Ministry of
Food andAgriculture, the targets of any crop commodity are not officially fixed,
ratherprovinces use their last years achievements as target of the next year.However,
for cotton, Ministry of Textile Industry planning to constitute acommittee to fix targets
by consulting all provinces and relevant stakeholdersand continue the crop volume
estimation during the season so that an unbiased, authenticdata, based on relevant facts
and realities could be publically available.
First BT Cotton Grown in Pakistan

Cotton is an important cash crop for Pakistan known as white gold. It accounts for 8.2
percent of the value added in agriculture and about 3.2 percent to GDP; around two
thirds of the countrys export earnings are from the cotton made-up and textiles which
adds over $2.5 billion to the national economy; while hundreds of ginning factories and
textile mills in the country heavily depends upon cotton. Life of millions of farmers is
dependent on this crop, in addition to millions of people employed along the entire
cotton value chain, from weaving to textile and garment exports The area under the
cultivation of cotton crops has been increased significantly in the last 30 years - around
7.85 million acres in 2005-06 as compared to 7.2 million acres in 2002-03. Beside being
the worlds fourth-largest cotton producer and the third largest exporter of raw cotton
and a leading exporter of yarn in the world our yield per acres ranks 13th in the world;
as a result Pakistan annually imports around 1.5-2.00 million bales of cotton to meet
growing demand from local textile mills; therefore it has become vital for Pakistan to
increase its yield per acre.

If we look at the Pakistan scenario, two major types of pests are damaging our cotton
crops sucking and chewing; to certain extent it is easier to control sucking pest by
strong pesticides but is very challenging to control chewing pests - Bollworms known as
Sundies American, Army, Pink and Spotted - cause major devastations in the cotton
crop fields; as a result of this, overall both quality of lint and production of cotton have
declined substantially. Moreover, recent disaster resulting from the cotton leaf curl virus
(CLCV) spread in Punjab and Sind pushed our institutes like Pakistan Atomic Energy
Commission (PAEC), National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering
(NIBGE) and Nuclear Institute of Agriculture and Biology (NIAB) in Faisalabad, and
National center of Excellence in Molecular Biology (NCEMB) at Punjab University Lahore
to cope with such problems; significant amount of financial resources and manpower
have been committed by the Government of Pakistan for developing genetically
modified (GM) local cotton varieties.

Farmers, who cultivated these Bt cotton varieties at heart of cotton growing regions in
Punjab - Bahawalpur, Multan, Muzaffer Garh and Karor Pakka; observed and evaluated
independently its resistance and susceptibility to different pests including factors like a
biotic stress and yield than compared it with non Bt cotton varieties grown in the same
locations. A large number of farmers have visited these fields, and become aware of the
benefits of the locally developed BT cotton.
Today, all major cotton producing countries are benefiting from the cultivation of Bt Cotton. In
the last season 54 percent of cotton crops grown in USA, 76 percent in China and 80 percent in
Australia were with single or double BT gene technology. India, the worlds third-largest
cotton-grower has cultivated 1.36 million acres of BT cotton crops. It is expected that within
two years more than half the worlds cotton may be grown from genetically modified crops.

Crop reviews carried out by various independent sources illustrate that unrecorded sowing of
new Bt cotton varieties also played its role in increasing cotton productivity, with unofficial
estimates suggesting 3 to 5 percent of the area in Punjab and 10 to 15 percent of the area in
Sind may have been planted in transgenic cotton.




Problems Faced by Cotton Ginning Industries
In Pakistan
(A case study)

Since ages cotton has been used to manufacture cloth. It is big business and has coursed the
economies and development of many nations through history. Pakistan has always been a
region that is rich in cotton and its products.
According to PCGA (Pakistan Cotton Ginners
Association) Pakistani cotton is one of the worlds
best products when in the field; but one of the
worst when it is sold to textile industry for cloth
production. The reason why this has happened is
the continuous decay of the cotton ginning industry which has left the once booming industry
into mere remnants of the past.

Before modern techniques for producing ginned cotton, or as they call it in the trade cotton
lint were introduced, handlooms were used at a wide scale in
the region that is now known as Pakistan and India. Although
improved lint producing gins were introduced in the industry
back since the 1750s but the real revolutionary technologies
came up in the 1940s with a new and advanced version of
McCarthy Roller Gin and the all new Rotobar (Knife Rotary Gin)
along with the Saw Gin.

According to SMEDA, USA, Pakistan, India and China are one of the major producers of cotton
in the world. They however, are all big consumers of cotton as well. China and India along with
Pakistan have now started to import Cotton on the
basis of high demand by their textile industry.
Cotton is so widely used that is still accounts for
56 percent of the worlds fiber market share. To
cope up, such a fine fiber is to be produced that
can be easily differentiated from the rest. Here
lies the plight of Pakistans Cotton Ginning
Industry.

One of the biggest problems faced by the
industry is that although it incorporates Saw
Gin technology, but the machine versions
used are of 1960s and 1980s mainly. They
are either imported when developed countries scrap them, or they are created as copies from
original designs both locally and in China. These machines are not only more energy
consuming and hence less efficient but are also more prone to breakdowns and need constant
expensive repair. Over 1,221 ginning units are installed with a capacity of more than one million
bales on a single shift basis and a total capacity of around 20 million bales on three shift basis
but much of it goes to waste due to lack of cotton production by farms and expensive rates of
imported low grade cotton in the market.

Adding misery to the situation is the seasonal functioning of the cotton ginning industry. The
cotton industries do not practice good storage practices all over the country. The lack of
warehousing leads to dust, cigarette filters and oily moisture being trapped in the cotton fiber.
This causes motes, neps and ill color of the lint produced which is then priced very low. Pakistan
needs to improve its cotton picking techniques as well since all its competitor countries in this
field are using machines and Pakistan is still relying on the cost and labor intensive hand
picking.

Apart from this, the middle man earns a lot in the whole lint production and marketing process.
There are some 12.683 million cotton bales according to Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association
(PCGA) released consolidated statement of cotton arrivals, as on 15th March 2010 an increase
of 12.20 percent over the same period last year.
But even all this is not properly sold to the
textile mills. Brokers demand high rates of
commission and so hinder the sales of lint at
premium prices. Ginning factories had pressed
12.678171 million bales till 15th March 2010,
out of which textile mills had purchased
11.565149 million bales and exporters had
picked up 0.795648 million bales Trading
Corporation of Pakistan that had purchased
0.180333 million bales during 20082009 season remained a spectator and did not enter cotton
market this year. Not to mention is the increase in unrecorded and smuggled products due the
overall rise of corruption in the country. In truth the corruption matter is so big that Pakistan is
ranked as the 34
th
most corrupt nation in the world with a CPI score of 2.3.

Financial institutions also harbor a general
mistrust for the industrialists in ginning cadre.
Although State Bank of Pakistan formulates and
promotes policies to provide for financial aid to
the industry each year, the number of defaulters
and sick industries increases years after year. No
liaison is present among the ginners and lending
institutes and many industrialists are left without
proper finance to even purchase raw materials.

The inability of the countrys power grid and production facilities has left the ginning process
very expensive and load shedding policies constantly hinder smooth production, alongwith
increasing wastes since the ginning machines have to be sanitized before restarting the process
after a break.

Moreover, the lack of reforms for laborers
combined with too much involvement of banking
sector and defaulters outstanding interests results
in a general dislike for the industry as they are not
deemed ethical and religious by many industrialists.

Since the advent of the country there has been no
institutionalization (SMEDA) for the cotton ginning industry. No specialists are funded by the
Government to enhance and reinforce the cotton ginning process. The PCGA is just a
monitoring body that has started no effective work up till now that can claim an improvement
in the ginning process and has only shown statistical analysis and presented its suggestions.

To go one step further, India has taken the lead. It has mainly deployed the low capacity roller
gins in its ginning sector. But it has both new technology and skilled, institutionalized workers
who produce, manage and market the lint. They have enhanced their ginning capacity overall
so as they now are a major importer of cotton to produce lint and bails. These factors have lead
to India beating the United States in becoming the second largest ginning country after China
worldwide. Pakistan however has its own constraints and is as of yet on the 4
th
place.

Now however trends are changing. With a
demand for amendment in the Cotton Control Act
1966 people hope for a bright future in the
ginning industry.