Maarg Manthan · Topic 11.19

Cotton: Varieties, Growing Conditions, Production Pattern, International Trade

Geography › Agriculture and Crop Geography · Topic 11.19

Cotton is the leading natural fibre and a major cash crop of the tropics and subtropics. It needs 21 to 30 °C, a frost-free season of about 200 days, 50 to 100 cm of rain or irrigation, bright sun at maturity, and deep black or alluvial soil. Varieties are grouped by fibre length into long-staple (over 27 mm; Egyptian, Sea Island), medium-staple and short-staple (Indian desi) cotton. China, India, the United States, Brazil, Pakistan and Australia are major producers. India has the largest area, grows all four cultivated species, and has grown Bt cotton since 2002, mainly in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana.

5 min read · UPSC Prelims · Geography · Agriculture and Crop Geography

At a Glance

Climate Warm, frost-free for about 200 days
Soil regur) Acidic leached soil Laterite Desert soil Arid soil, sandy Classification…">Black soil; alluvium
Types Long, medium, short staple
Top Indian states Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana
GM crop Bt cotton (2002)
Exam link UPSC Prelims, Geography: Agriculture and Crop Geography

Where Does It Fit?

This topic follows coffee in the group of commercial crops and takes the main raw material of the textile industry. It links agriculture to the cotton textile industry studied later and to the black soil region of the Deccan. Previous topic: Coffee: Types, Growing Conditions, Production Pattern, International Trade. Next topic: Jute: Growing Conditions, Production Pattern, International Trade, Substitutes (Flax, Hemp, Sisal).

What Are the Varieties and Growing Conditions of Cotton?

Class	Fibre length	Examples	Use
Long staple	Over 27 mm	Egyptian cotton, Sea Island cotton, Gossypium barbadense; Indian long-staple hirsutum varieties	Fine, strong cloth and high count yarn
Medium staple	20 to 27 mm	American Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), most of the world’s cotton	General textiles
Short staple	Under 20 mm	Asiatic desi cottons, Gossypium arboreum and herbaceum	Coarse cloth, blankets, cotton wool

Temperature: 21 to 30 °C, with a frost-free period of about 200 days. Cool weather and frost harm the crop.
Rainfall: 50 to 100 cm, with bright sunny weather during boll opening; excess rain at picking spoils the fibre. Irrigation is important in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
Soil: deep, well-drained black soil (regur) of the Deccan, which retains moisture, and alluvium in the north, as in Types, Textures and Distribution of Soils in India.
Labour: picking is by hand in most countries, and needs many workers, while the United States, Australia and Brazil use machines.
Species: India is the only country that grows all four cultivated species, the two Old World (arboreum and herbaceum) and two New World (hirsutum and barbadense).

How Is Cotton Cultivated in India?

Season: mostly a kharif crop, sown with the monsoon in May to July and picked from October to January; in the north-west it is sown earlier, in April-May, under irrigation.
Bt cotton: the genetically modified variety with a bacterial gene against the bollworm was approved in 2002, and now covers over 90 per cent of the area. It cut losses to bollworm and raised yields in the early years, but a pink bollworm resistance and rising seed costs have posed problems. It is the only GM crop in India, as in Infrastructure Factors: Seeds, Fertilizers, Irrigation.
Varieties and hybrids: most of the cotton is now hybrid; the Central Institute for Cotton Research at Nagpur supports research.
Rainfed farming: more than half of the area is rainfed, so yields are low (about 450 to 500 kg of lint per hectare) compared with Australia, China or Brazil.
Problems: pest outbreaks, dependence on rain, price swings, debts and farmer distress in Vidarbha and parts of Telangana. High-density planting and better management are being tried.

What Is the Production Pattern and Trade?

World: about 25 million tonnes of lint a year. China, India, the United States, Brazil, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkey and Australia are the main producers.
India: the largest cotton area in the world, about 12 million hectares, and output of about 30 to 35 million bales (170 kg each). Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan are the main states, and Gujarat is the largest. The Deccan black soil and the northern irrigated tracts are the two regions.
Exporters: the United States, Brazil, Australia and some African countries are the largest exporters. India exports some cotton in years of surplus and imports long-staple varieties in others.
Importers: Bangladesh, Vietnam, China, Pakistan, Turkey and Indonesia, which have large textile and garment industries.
Value chain: cotton is ginned, spun, woven and made into garments, and India’s textile and apparel sector is one of its largest employers. The Cotton Corporation of India buys cotton at the minimum support price when market prices fall.

As an analytical point, cotton ties the farm to the factory and export market, and its fortunes depend on the monsoon, on technology and on global prices. The figures are approximate and are revised each season.

Why Is This Topic Important?

Varieties Staple length classes
GM crop Bt cotton
Region Black soil belt

What Came Next?

The next topic describes jute: growing conditions, production pattern, trade and substitutes. Next topic: Jute: Growing Conditions, Production Pattern, International Trade, Substitutes (Flax, Hemp, Sisal).

Key People and Terms

Staple Fibre length
Lint Ginned cotton fibre
Boll Cotton seed capsule
Bt cotton GM cotton with a pest-resistance gene
Ginning Removing seeds from fibre
Regur Black cotton soil

Exam Corner

Points to Remember

Long staple is over 27 mm.
Bt cotton approved in 2002.
India has the largest area under cotton.
Gujarat is the largest producer in India.
Cotton grows best in black soil.

Do Not Confuse With

Cotton and jute Soft fibre of dry warm lands versus golden fibre of the humid delta
Desi and American cotton Short staple versus medium staple
Area and production India leads in area; China and others have higher yield

Memory Hook

Warm for two hundred days, black soil, picking by hand: long, medium, short is the staple’s brand.

Mains Angle

Questions ask for the distribution of cotton and the issues of cotton farmers. These points add depth.

Region Deccan and north-west
Technology Bt cotton gains and limits
Distress Rainfed risk and debt

A Question You May Face

An original practice question, not a past paper question.

“Describe the geographical conditions for cotton cultivation and the distribution of cotton in India, and discuss the problems of cotton farmers.”

How to Answer

Conditions Temperature, rain, soil.
Varieties Staple classes.
India States and Bt cotton.
Problems Pests, yield, debt.

GS Relevance

Prelims: cotton varieties, conditions, Bt cotton, leading states and countries. GS Paper 1 and 3: crop geography and textile industry.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the climatic requirements of cotton?

Cotton needs a warm climate of 21 to 30 degrees Celsius with a frost-free period of about 200 days, 50 to 100 centimetres of rain or irrigation, and bright sunshine at the time of boll opening. It grows best in deep, well-drained black soils such as the regur of the Deccan.

What are the main varieties of cotton by fibre length?

Cotton is classed as long-staple, with fibres over 27 millimetres, as in Egyptian and Sea Island cotton; medium-staple, of 20 to 27 millimetres, which includes American upland cotton; and short-staple, below 20 millimetres, which includes the Asiatic desi cottons of India.

What is Bt cotton?

Bt cotton is a genetically modified cotton that carries a gene from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, which makes it resistant to bollworm. It was approved in India in 2002 and is the only genetically modified crop grown in the country. It covers most of the country's cotton area.

Which states of India grow the most cotton?

Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana are the leading cotton-growing states of India, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan. The black soil of the Deccan and the irrigated tracts of the north-west are the two main cotton regions.

Which countries are the largest producers and exporters of cotton?

China, India, the United States, Brazil, Pakistan and Australia are the largest producers of cotton. The United States, Brazil and Australia are among the largest exporters, and Bangladesh, Vietnam, China, Pakistan and Turkey are the major importers for their textile industries.

PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis

1 India is the only country that grows all four cultivated species of cotton.

True

Two Old World and two New World species.

2 Cotton grows best in laterite soil.

False

It grows best in black and alluvial soil.

3 Bt cotton was approved in India in 2002.