Introduction

Cotton is an important fibre yielding crop of global importance, which is grown in tropical and subtropical regions of more than 80 countries the world over.Cotton refers to those species of the genus Gossypium which bear spinnable seed coat fibres.

Cotton seed bears two types of fibres viz, long fibres known as lint which can be separated from the seed by the process of ginning; and short fibres known as fuzz or linters which remain on the seed even after ginning. The lint is used for spinning purpose. Thus those species of Gossypium which possess lint that can be spun into fine yarn are referred to as cotton.

There are about 42 species of the genus Gossypium out of these only four species, viz. Gossypium arboreum, G.herbaceum, G.hirsutum and G.barbadense are cultivated and rest are wild. The first two species are diploid (2n = 26) and are native of old world. Diploid cultivated species are also known as Desi cottons or Asiatic cottons because they are cultivated in Asian region. The last two of the above mentioned cultivated species are tetraploid (2n = 52) and are referred to as New world cottons. The G.hirsutum is also known as American cotton or upland cotton and G.barbadense is also referred to as Sea Island cotton or Egyptian cotton or Tanguish cotton. The G.hirsutum is the predominant species, which alone contributes about 90% to the global production.

The major cotton producing countries are USA, China, India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Argentina, Australia, Greece, Brazil and Turkey. These countries contribute about 85% to the global Cotton production. In India, cotton crop is grown throughout the country. However, there are nine major cotton producing states, viz. Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. These states contribute about 90% to the National cotton production. Based on cotton cultivation, India is divided into three major zones viz. north zone (Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan), central zone (Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat) and south zone (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and TamilNadu). These zones differ from each other in soil type, topography, irrigation facilities, species cultivated etc.

Perhaps, India is the only country in the world where all the four cultivated species are grown for commercial cultivation, besides hybrids. In India, about 45% area is covered by hybrids, 31% by upland varieties and 24% by diploid cultivars (ICAC, 1997). The Egyptian cotton is cultivated on a very little area (0.2%) in few pockets of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The G.herbaceum is confined to the states of Gujarat and Karnataka. Two species Viz. G.hirsutum and G.arboreum are cultivated in all the nine cotton growing states in India.

Area, Production and Yield

Table1: The details of area, production and yield in some important cotton growing countries during 2005-06 and Projections for 2006-07 as per FAS, USDA are as under:

Area - In million hectares

Production - In million 480 lb.bales

Yield - In kg per hectare

Source: Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division, FAS, USDA, August, 2006.

World cotton production for 2006-07 has been projected at 715.47 million 480 lb.bales as against 723.52 million 480 lb.bales in 2005-06 i.e. a drop of 7.03 million 480 lb.bales from the previous year.The highest production for 2006-07 has been estimated in China at 27.50 million 480 lb.bales, while in USA & Pakistan also the production has been projected for 2006-07 at the level of 20.43 and 10.50 million 480 lb.bales respectively. Production is likely to decline in USA, one of the major cotton producing countries in 2006-07.

India has the largest area under cotton in the world. This is almost one fourth of the world cotton area. Though India ranks first in area it production is very low when compared to other major cotton producing countries.The production share of India in the world is much lower for the vast area the crop occupies. The main reason is its low productivity.

The decade analysis of the area, production and productivity of India are given in Table 2,3 & 4 below.

Table: 2 - State-wise cotton area (Lakh hectares) during the last ten years

*CAB Estimate of 22.12. 2K6 : CAB = Cotton Advisory Board.

Table: 3 - State-wise cotton production (Lakh bales) during the last ten years.

*CAB Estimate of 22.12. 2K6

Table: 4 - State-wise cotton productivity (kg lint/ha) during the last ten years.

*CAB Estimate of 22.12. 2K6

Cotton is grown over 9.13 m.ha in India with a production of 27.0 million bales and with a productivity of 503 kg/ha (2006-2007). As against the world average of about 723 kg/ha cotton yield per hectare, cotton yield in India is hardly 467kg/ha.

Although cotton is cultivated in almost all the states in the country, the 9 states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, MadhyaPradesh, Andhra Pradesh, TamilNadu and Karnataka account for more than 95% of the area and output (Table 2, 3 & 4).

Table: 5 - Irrigated and unirrigated area particulars of cotton in India - state wise (lakh hectares)

Source – DOCD, Mumbai

Table 6: Area, Production and Productivity of Cotton in India during Past Six Decades

Source: Cotton Advisory Board, 22.12. 2K6

Origin and Spread

Cotton belongs to Genus Gossypium having 42 species among which 4 are cultivable with spinnable lint and rest are wild type with short seed fuzz.

The lint-bearing species of the genus Gossypium, the true cottons are four, out of which the diploid (2n=26) species of G.arboreum L. and G.herbaceum L. are indigenous to Asia and Africa and are popularly referred to as desi cottons in India.

The new world cottons, i.e., the tetraploid (2n=52) species of G.hirsutum L. and G.barbadense L. were initially introduced into India during the 17^th and 18^th centuries A.D. It has been shown that the new world cottons are natural amphidiploids containing the A genome from a taxon of the Asiatic diploid group and a D genome from a taxon of the American diploid group. The new world cottons are popularly known as American (G.hirsutum) and Egyptian (G.barbadense) cottons.

Four cultivable species are:

Spread and Pattern of Cotton Cultivation

India is the only country in the world which has the distinction of cultivating all the four cultivated cotton species viz., G.arboreum, G.herbaceum, G.hirsutum and G.barbadense, which are grown on a commercial scale. The Desi Cottons (G.arboreum and G.herbaceum) are mainly cultivated in dry land tracts, though Bangal desi is grown as an irrigated crop in the north. G.hirsutum is known as the American Cotton and most popular varieties and hybrids now under cultivation belong to this group. G.barbadense is popularly known as the Egyptian cotton and is grown in negligible area world over (except Egypt) and in India too. India has the largest acreage under hirsutum cotton. It is the centre of origin of arboreum and herbaceum cottons and the first in developing and cultivating commercial hybrid cottons.

The country is divided into three main cotton growing zones, the northern G.hirsutum, and G.arboreum, zone in the states of Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana, accounting for about 1.9 million ha., the major central G.hirsutum, G.arboreum and G.herbaceum zone in the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra with 5.4 million ha., the composite southern G.hirsutum, G.arboreum, G.herbaceum, G.barbadense zone in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu accounting for about 1.8 million hectares.

The north zone occupies only 21 per cent of the area but contributes more than 25 per cent of the production as the entire area is irrigated and varieties limited to only hirsutum and desi. The central zone is mainly rainfed, occupying more than 56 per cent of the total area but contributing less than 50 per cent to the total production and is characterised by rampant proliferation of hybrids. The south zone is typical of all types of cotton viz., irrigated and rainfed, hybrids (inter & intra specific and desi & American) and varieties (desi and American).

History of cotton in India

Reference in Ancient Texts

Although there is a reference to threads in looms in the Rigveda ascribed to have been variously compiled between 4000 B.C. and 1200 B.C., there is no specific mention of cotton in this ancient sacred text. However, in the Vedangas, i.e. in sutra literature ascribed to have been written around 1000 B.C., in the principal Apasthamba Grihya Sutra, Manthara Patha, Ekagni Khanda, Prasna 11, Adh 2, Riks 3 and 4, a reference to cotton reads as follows, when translated from Sanskrit.

"O cloth! The Goddess Revati prepared a sliver by beating you out of seeds. The Goddess Krithika spun you into yarn. The Goddess Dhee did the weaving. The Goddess Gna cut and took you out of the loom. The above Goddesses and thousands more made up the ends at both sides of the cloth. The Goddesses gave the cloth to the Sun (Savitr) God and even as he put it on, its greatness became explicit. So, too, is the cloth".

It may be noted that the stages of ginning of seed cotton, spinning the lint and weaving the yarn are covered in this religious text, thus suggesting the implicit use of cotton in India by 1000 B.C. In the days of Herodotus, the father of history, who wrote around 445 B.C., it was evident that Indians wore cotton clothes. He wrote that "they posses a kind of plant which, instead of fruit, produces wool of a finer and better quality than that of sheep; of this the Indians make their clothes". In Manu Smriti, ascribed to have been written around the second century B.C. verse 44, chapter2, reads as follows when translated from Sanskrit:

"The sacred thread of Brahman shall be of cotton, of right - twisted three ply; of a Kshatriya (shall be) of hemp and of a Vaisya (shall be) of wool".

The other sacred texts such as Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Puranas also contain references to cotton materials, apart from the Tamil Sangam (Academy) literature dated prior to third century AD. The use of cotton seed as food during famine, untwisted lint as wick for lamps, and the evolution of the lint as material for spinning and its use as textiles have been mentioned in the ancient Dravidian literature.

Use of Cotton in Ancient India

The speculations about the earliest use of fibres from cotton in the Indian subcontinent were set at rest with the discovery of cotton materials in the excavations at Mohenjo-daro in the Indus Valley carried out during the 1920’s. The archaeological evidence showed that the cotton samples retrieved from Mohenjo-daro would have been made around 3000 B.C. In these excavations, well-preserved fabrics of cotton were discovered in silver vessels. The fragment of fabric was carefully examined at the then Technological Laboratory, Bombay (now Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology, Mumbai). The photograph of the fabric and microphotograph of the fibre from the excavated sample are reproduced, as recopied and enlarged from Bulletin, Technological Series, B, No.3, October 1928 published by the Indian Central Cotton Committee, Technological Laboratory (present CIRCOT).

After critical examination of the fibre’s characteristics of length, weight per unit length, fiber strength, convolutions per inch, ribbon width, and fibre rigidity, it was concluded that on the whole, this early cotton has been produced from cotton plants closely related to the present day G.arboreum types.

Cotton role in Indian economy

Cotton is one of the important fibre crop and cash crop in India and plays a dominant role in the industrial and agricultural economy of the country. It is the vital crop of commerce popularly known as the "White Gold" and king of fibres also.

The export of raw cotton, yarn, textiles, garments cotton seed cake, oil and other by products earn valuable foreign exchange. Export of cotton and other textiles during 1997-98 realised foreign exchange worth RS. 40,000 crores which was over 30% of the total foreign exchange earnings of the country. Out of the total Indian exports, cotton and other textiles account for almost one third and nearly 60 million people are sustained directly or indirectly by cotton production, processing and marketing and trade.

Future Scenario for Technology Development

• Though there is spectacular increase in production in India from 52.7 lakh bales (170 kg lint each) in 1966-67 to 161.5 lakh bales in 1998-99, the productivity is low with 301 kg/ha lint as against world average of 600 kg/ha. This is mainly due to 70 percent of cotton grown under rainfed conditions and seasonal incidence of pests and diseases in irrigated and rainfed cottons.
• The share of cotton in textiles is around 50 per cent globally and 65 per cent in India. The future requirements of cotton depend on several factors like population increase, changing clothing habits, competition from man made fibres, competition with other commercial crops, global demand etc. Thus, keeping pace with the population increase of 1.8 per cent per annum and to maintain the present status in national cotton production, India has to step up cotton production from the present level by.
• Increasing the area under irrigation from the present 30 per cent to 50 per cent level by providing efficient irrigation practices like drip.
• Increasing the area under hybrids from the present 50 per cent to 60 per cent level.
• Evolving high yielding varieties/hybrids with multiple resistance to pests.
• Ensuring supply of quality inputs to cover 100 per cent cotton area (particularly seeds)
• Strengthening research activities on cotton in non-traditional areas.
• The problem is not only to increase the production for future demands, but also to sustain higher levels of production. For the fluctuations in production, the spread of crop to unsuitable areas, frequent outbreak of pests and diseases, vagaries of monsoon and constraints in supply of quality inputs are the possible reasons.

Reorienting research efforts

New approaches

Required infrastructure

An effective forecasting system for pests and diseases has to be created to take appropriate preventive measures to check the pests and diseases. Some of the emerging issues affecting the scenario of cotton production in the state are serious incidence of bollworms, nutritional disorders and problems encountered in picking (harvesting) which by and large, is manual. The cotton industry has its own specific requirements. Their emphasis is on strength and micronaire. The high cost of cultivation, which is escalating every year, is yet another important problem requiring serious attention.

Other approaches required to meet the challenging problem of cotton