Cotton plant : Information, Planting and Its Uses

                      
                                     Cotton plant
Cotton plant is a shrub and is widely cultivated in over 90 countries for its fiber and secondly for seeds. This is basically perennial but now- a-days it is treated as an annual plant.The plants can grow to be about 6 to 20 meters high, but are kept much shorter in cultivation. Cotton leaves are broad, with anywhere from three to seven lobes on each leaf.Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, around the seeds of the cotton plants. Under natural conditions, the cotton bolls will increase the dispersal of the seeds.It prefers warm and humid climate. So it is very common in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Botanical name: Gossypium

Family : Malvaceae

Life cycle: Perennial

Plant height : 6-20 m

Leaf Colour: Green

Flower Colour: White, Yellow, Pink

Temperature: 16-35 °C

Light: Full sun/ half sun

Soil: Loamy, sandy

Climate : Tropical, subtropical

Advantage: Easy to grow

Planting

Cotton plant likes warm climate. The ideal temperature should be 15-35 °C.

Cotton can grow in almost all well drained soils sandy loam soils with enough clay, organic matter and a moderate concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus. The best yields are often achieved in loamy soils that are rich in calcium carbonate.
Cotton plants are grown from seeds. Seeds can be directly seeded into garden, or seeded indoors for transplanting later.

Space plants 12" 15" apart.These plants are heavy feeders. Mix plenty of compost and manure into your garden prior to planting. Add fertilizer high in potassium, on a regular basis.Keep the soil moist, not wet, during the growing season. Water deeply.Harvest cotton from the bolls when they break open.

Uses:

All parts of the cotton plant are useful. The most important is the fiber or lint, which is used in making cotton cloth. Linters – the short fuzz on the seed – provide cellulose for making plastics, explosives and other products.

Fibre
• Textiles and yarns for clothing, towels, bedding and other household items.
• Cordage (cords and ropes)
• Cord for car tyres
• Plastic reinforcing
• Stuffing inside pill bottles

Seed
• Plastics
• Explosives
• High quality paper products
• Batting for padding mattresses, furniture and automobile cushions
• Computer chip boards
• Flat-panel television screens

The cottonseed is crushed to separate its three products, namely oil, meal and hulls.
• Oil – refined oil is used in shortening, margarine, cooking oil, salad dressing and cosmetics. Less refined grades are used to manufacture soap, candles, detergents, artificial leather, oilcloth, and many other commodities.
• Meal – livestock, poultry and fish feed, and fertiliser.
• Hulls – fertiliser, fuel, packing.

Leave
• Ploughed under to enrich the soil.
• Fibre from stalks is used for pressed paper and cardboard.