Cotton

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The cotton plant is grown in over 100 countries around the world. If you look at cotton production in terms of quantity, the largest cotton-producing countries are China, USA, India and Pakistan. They account for about 2/3 of the world’s total production. Including Uzbekistan and Egypt to these four you look at 3/ 4 of the world’s total cotton production.

The quality of the cotton fiber depends on what type of cotton plant it is, but also weather conditions during the growing season. Also the way you harvest cotton can affect its quality. It is believed that the best types are the tall ones, such Egyptian cotton and “Pima Peru”. Even the coarseness and the amount of immature fibers are important quality factors. Textile materials with short fibers and immature fibers have low strength and large fiber loss during use and washing.

Cotton fiber has good durability and when wetted its strength increases by up to 10%, while the product is shrinking. Fibers with uneven surface make dirt find its way into cotton easy and it will require cleaning at high temperatures to be clean. The low ductility and elasticity of cotton makes the fabrics wrinkle easily and must be ironed or mangled after washing. One can increase cotton’s gloss with a special treatment called mercerization that is basically a treatment in caustic soda.

Cotton appears in different kinds of textiles - clothing, home textiles, bandages and woven products for industrial use. Cotton linters are also used for the manufacture of paper and for fine papers and in particularly banknote paper, and also for the manufacture of cellulose derivatives of high quality.

Use of chemicals

Extremely high amounts of fertilizer is commonly used in the cultivation of cotton and different types of insecticides and herbicides are also used. The use of chemicals can account for up to half the cost of cultivation. Statistics show that cotton is grown on 2.4% of the world's arable land but requires 11% of the world's pesticides. The chemicals used are not only expensive but also harmful to the environment and for those who work in the cotton fields. For mechanical harvesting, it is important that the cotton plant first defoliates to reduce pollution in cotton. There is also use of defoliant agents where some are dangerous to the environment and cotton growers (such as Agent Orange, which is a neurotoxin that was used in the Vietnam War). In some places, however, defoliation occurs naturally through the frost.

Water

Cotton cultivation requires a lot of water during growth. To grow a kilo of cotton one requires generally between 10 000 and 17 000 liters of water. One example is the production of a pair of jeans where the same amount of water as an adult needs to get by for 6 years is used. In dry areas, irrigation is used. Irrigation can lead to exclusion of other vegetation in the area and the drying of rivers and lakes. One example is the drying of the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan. The need for irrigation is controlled by conditions in the various producing countries. For example, Sudan may require 29 000 liters of water but in Israel only 7000 liters of water per kilo of cotton is needed. About half of the world's cotton is grown with the help of irrigation; the other half is grown with rain as the only source of water. Uzbekistan, Turkey and Australia uses irrigation on almost all of its cotton cultivation, while Brazil and West Africa grows almost without the help of irrigation.

Energy

As with all mechanical cultivation, cotton cultivation needs fuel for machinery and vehicles to varying degrees
depending on the degree of mechanization.