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Cotton - an essential plant-based fiber

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Monheim, Germany
May 13, 2009

Source: Bayer CropScience Editorial Service - Issue 7

In close contact with nature

We feel it next to our skin almost every day, but this is not the only reason why natural fibers like cotton have such great economic significance. It has a vast range of uses, from fibers for textiles and packaging through to oil and as an ingredient in compound materials. And the plant itself is being improved all the time, as biotechnology helps it cope better with the effects of climate change and enhances the quality of the fibers.

"I pull on my jeans and I feel alright ..." as David Dundas sang in his hit “Jeans On”. He composed this catchy jingle to advertise Brutus Jeans in the USA in the late seventies. But jeans and T-shirts don't just represent a particular attitude to life: the material from which they are made – cotton – also sits well on the skin. Unlike wool, cotton doesn't scratch or make your skin feel itchy. Its fibers are soft and are pleasant to touch. This natural substance breathes and is hygienic, as many items made of cotton can be boil-washed. Natural fibers are therefore a boon to people suffering from allergies. One more characteristic of cotton makes it lovely to wear next to the skin: it can absorb up to 20 per cent of its own weight in water vapour before it starts to feel damp. Even when it has taken up 65 per cent of its own weight in water it is still not wringing wet.

The international year of natural fibers

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, the FAO, decided to make 2009 the International Year of Natural Fibres because cotton is more than "just" a raw material used in textiles. It is also the way in which millions of people earn their living. One of the principles behind this International Year is to raise awareness of the particular properties and benefits of natural fibers. The FAO also hopes that it will lead to a lasting improvement in the economic and environmental aspects of cotton cultivation throughout the world.

The FAO's statistics show that around 30 million tonnes of natural fibers are produced all over the world. Most of this – 26 million tonnes - is cotton. Wool comes in second place and jute in third. Ancient cultures regarded cotton as "white gold" because it was so valuable. The description is particularly apt nowadays as the range of uses has expanded so much. It is true that we still use cotton for textiles, but only 35 per cent of the global harvest ends up in sweaters, underwear or smart sports jackets.

The seed produced by the plant together with the husk and short fibers account for the other 65 per cent of the usable cotton by-products and have a wide range of applications. The seeds are crushed to produce oil which is used in food and for industrial applications. The remaining residue is a high-quality livestock feed. The short fibers which are not suitable for making textiles are used in various ways, including cotton wool for medical applications. Natural fibers are also in demand in the paper and packaging industries. And it even finds its way into the car industry, where this versatile material is used to strengthen plastics in environmentally-friendly components for high-end interiors.

As with any natural product, the quality of cotton depends on many factors: the length, thickness and strength of the fibers vary according to the variety grown and the weather conditions. Length is the most important quality criterion: the longer, finer and stronger the cotton fibers are, the easier it is to transform them into yarn and fabric. They have to stand up to their main rivals – artificial fibers – in this respect. The length, colour, shape, thickness and quality of machine-made fibers never vary. "Nowadays it is no longer enough just to boost the productivity of plants. It is at least as important to develop ways of improving particular aspects of the quality of cotton fibers", comments Linda Trolinder, Cotton Research and Development Manager at Bayer CropScience's site in the Belgian town of Ghent.

 


Research & Development:

Seed for fine fibers

Scientists throughout the world are working to develop cotton plants that produce high-quality fibers and are at the same time ideally suited to their location. This is the aim of the biotechnology researchers working on cotton fibers for Bayer CropScience. As Tony Arioli, a specialist in fiber biology for Bayer CropScience, explains: "Until a few years ago nobody really knew how cotton fibers are created, and why one plant produces good and another plant poor fibers. But now the secret is out: biochemical analysis and genetic engineering has helped biotechnologists uncover some of the molecular mechanisms behind fiber development.

Research targets include improving the inherent characteristics of fiber – length, strength, fineness, etc. – to improve the spinning or manufacturing characteristics of the fiber itself. Another focus area is looking at entirely new fiber characteristics that might impart desirable processing or consumer qualities such as dyeability, wrinkle resistance or flame retardance.
 

During breeding, the cotton blossoms are pollinated by hand in the research centers of Bayer CropScience.

 

Cotton bolls ready to pick

 

Mechanical harvest (Australia)

 
 Loading of harvested cotton in Mexico
 
Cotton module on the field awaiting transport to cotton gin (Australia)
 
Bayer CropScience employee Iris de Beun checking the quality of coloured cotton fibre

Photo source: Bayer CropScience AG
Copyright Bayer CropScience AG
 

Breeding and protection

Modern methods and technologies are helping plant breeders make better use of the global cotton gene pool and create new varieties specially adapted to local requirements. They also want to make cotton better able to cope with environmental stress factors such as drought in the future. One means of approaching this goal is to look again at the earliest domesticated forms of cotton.

Bayer CropScience therefore has now started a pre-breeding program for cotton in collaboration with Nature Source Genetics. During the course of this 5 year collaboration, the two parties will work together to identify genes of interest found in primitive cottons and develop efficient strategies for incorporating them into Bayer’s elite breeding program. The initial focus of the program will be on yield and yield stability, the two characteristics most important to cotton growers.

Another key breeding partner for Bayer CropScience is the Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) based in the Australian capital, Canberra. Cotton Seed International Proprietary Limited, an Australian corporation, which has exclusive rights, through its parent company Cotton Seed Distributors Proprietary Limited, has formed a joint venture company with Bayer CropScience in order to further adapt the Australian cotton varieties to the needs of the international markets. This cooperation resulted in the development of FiberMax®, a unique and very successful line of cotton varieties known for producing high-quality fibers while also generating high yields. The product achieved a market share of 32.2 per cent by 2008. This top-grade cotton variety has been particularly popular in Texas, as the proportion of cotton land given over to FiberMax® varieties increased from just over 45 per cent in 2004 to 67.6 per cent in 2008. The Certified FiberMax® Cotton program enables firms that process the cotton not only to buy the high-grade fibers they want but also to trace the variety back to the seed in the field. Then they can be sure that they have been sold genuine FiberMax® lint.

But Bayer CropScience does not focus solely on improving fiber yield and quality in its research activities: it strives to improve the plants' tolerance to herbicides and resistance to insects as well. The potential benefits of this work are enormous: a more targeted use of crop protection products, benefiting both the environment and the farmer's wallet. But more comprehensive crop protection starts much earlier. Special seed dressings protect cotton against insect damage for up to 45 days after the seedlings have emerged. Seed treatment also protects plants from infections caused by fungi and bacteria.

Economic aspects

Cotton - a commodity in great demand

The size of the global cotton trade is enormous: It is cultivated in around 130 countries. Farmers all around the world harvested 26 million tonnes of cotton during the 2007/2008 season. The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) estimates that around 100 million farms depend on natural fibers. Hafez Ghanem, FAO Assistant General Director for Social and Economic Development, commented at the start of the International Year of Natural Fibres that "fibers account for up to 50 per cent of exports from some developing countries. For the farmers and farms in these countries, a secure food supply depends on income from natural fibers."

China is the world's largest cotton producer, with around 30 per cent of production, followed by the USA (24 per cent) and India (21 per cent). These countries alone account for three-quarters of the world's cotton harvest. The only real rivals to cotton on the world's fiber market have been artificial fibers, which have from time to time reduced cotton's market share.

The world's total cotton acreage stands at 34 million hectares, with the crop occupying 2.5 per cent of arable land. Although the area of land given over to cotton cultivation has remained more or less the same in the past forty years, yields have risen dramatically over the same period. In 1965, the figure stood at 372 kilograms per hectare, but by 2006 this had more than doubled to reach 765 kilograms per hectare. This rise was driven mainly by advancements in cotton breeding and genetics, the cultivation of genetically modified cotton, and efficient crop management and improved irrigation systems. New, high-performance varieties with built-in pest resistance also reduced the yield loss due to insect damage in cotton fields.

Chinese and U.S. cotton farmers have been particularly efficient in managing their crop: China's cotton fields yield around 1,000 kilograms per hectare, with the USA coming in it at 960 kilograms. In contrast, the figure for India is just 429 kilograms per hectare. However, the sub-continent is home to the largest amount of land used to produce "white gold" (9.1 million hectares).

But cotton plants do not simply produce fibers: the oil content of the seeds for example is used for industrial cooking, margarine, soap, candles and the cosmetics industry. In the 2007/08 season cotton crops produced 46.1 million tonnes of oilseed, putting it in third place in the oilseed production league table behind soy beans (220.8 million tonnes) and canola (48.4 million tonnes)

Sustainability:

Making more efficient use of water

Growing high-yielding high-quality cotton requires significant amounts of water. It takes about a cubic meter of water to produce one kilogram of fibers. And large amounts of water are also needed in the processing and chemical treatment of the fibers. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) IHE Institute of Water Education, it takes around 11,000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans (from field to when they are sold in a shop), while for a T-shirt the same process takes just under 3,000 litres (source: "The Water Footprint of Cotton Consumption"). That is why action aimed at more efficient use of this water is essential: examples include optimum water management and better land cultivation techniques.

Research into the genetic potential of primitive cottons to increase the water use efficiency of commercial cottons is a critical activity. Working with wild cotton species and early varieties of cotton is very challenging. Nevertheless Bayer CropScience's researchers are optimistic that they will discover stress-tolerant and drought-resistant proprieties that will be useful to cultivated plants to reduce the water needed for cotton cultivation. This is doubly beneficial. Water is becoming scarcer and is becoming increasingly expensive for the cotton producer. Increasing the water use efficiency of cotton will make it more sustainable ecologically and economically.

The International Cotton Advisory Committee represents the cotton industry at global level. This site offers statistics on the global cotton market situation and technical information, and acts as a platform for joint ventures.
http://www.icac.org

The official website of the International Year of Natural Fibers contains information about events, "fiber stories" and background information.
http://www.naturalfibres2009.org

The "Cotton and Wool Outlook" produced by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) offers facts and figures about fibers in the United States and around the world.
http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/ers/CWS//2000s/2009/CWS-03-12-2009.pdf

Entering "cotton" in the search engine of the Food and Agriculture Organisation brings a wealth of statistics and market data, as well as information about the crop's impact on food security and poverty.
http://www.fao.org

www.proplanta.de
This German-language agriculture information center contains a summary of information about major crops, economic data and figures relating to cotton.

The Australia-based Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is one of the world's leading scientific institutions. Its website contains information about research projects and articles on breeding methods, fiber quality and irrigation issues.
http://www.csiro.au/science/Cotton.html

www.transgen.de
German-language website that contains numerous information about biotechnology and food.
 
 

Additional information on cotton

Origin + history
Machines spin success for the textile industry

People have been spinning and weaving cotton into cloth for thousands of years. Cotton seeds and bolls and fabric dating back to around 5000 B.C. have been discovered, for example, in Mexico.

In North America, modern cotton cultivation began in the 'old cotton states' of Florida, North and South Carolina, Louisiana and Georgia in the seventeenth century. But the world trade in raw cotton remained tiny for some time, primarily because it had to be processed by hand, which was labour-intensive. It was not until the invention of machinery in the mid-eighteenth century that cotton started to take off. The industrial process involved the use of cotton gins to separate the plant fibers from the seeds and spinning machines like the "spinning Jenny" to turn the fibers into yarn much faster than could be done manually. Finally, mechanical looms made cotton into a product that could be traded all over the world.
The shorter fibers were used to make coarse, cheap yarn, cotton wool, and, thanks to its high cellulose content, paper and rayon. The longer fibers, also referred to as lint, were pressed into balls and spun to produce cotton yarn for the textile industry.

Biology:
The birth of the hairy seeds

Despite its German name (Baumwolle = tree wool), the fluffy seed fibers do not grow on trees. The plant is typically found in the wild as a shrub. The seed hairs of the four Gossypium species domesticated as a source of cotton have been clothing us for thousands of years.

Despite the fact that wild species are found throughout the world, modern cultivated cotton is not suited to all conditions: cotton seeds do best if they are kept moist at sowing time, and the plant needs plenty of heat as it ripens. That is why cultivation as a commercial crop is restricted to tropical and sub-tropical regions.

A plant will be ready for harvesting between 150 and 225 days after the seed was sown. Each boll has three to five compartments, each of which contains 25-30 pear-shaped seeds to which are attached the valuable fibers. At maturity the bolls open, and the fibers dry and “fluff” out making the bolls look like giant balls of cotton wool. Primitive forms of cotton have seeds with 2,000 and 7,000 fibers, but modern varieties can have up to 20,000 fibers per seed. Each of these fibers started life as a single cell.

 

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