Gossypium hirsutum – upland cotton, native to Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean and southern Florida (90% of world production).There are four commercially grown species of cotton, all domesticated in antiquity: The United States has been the largest exporter for many years. India is the world's largest producer of cotton. The use of cotton for fabric is known to date to prehistoric times fragments of cotton fabric dated to the fifth millennium BC have been found in the Indus Valley civilization, as well as fabric remnants dated back to 6000 BC in Peru.Īlthough cultivated since antiquity, it was the invention of the cotton gin that lowered the cost of production that led to its widespread use, and it is the most widely used natural fiber cloth in clothing today.Ĭurrent estimates for world production are about 25 million tonnes or 110 million bales annually, accounting for 2.5% of the world's arable land. The fiber is most often spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable, and durable textile. Cotton was independently domesticated in the Old and New Worlds.
The greatest diversity of wild cotton species is found in Mexico, followed by Australia and Africa. The plant is a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, Africa, Egypt and India.
Under natural conditions, the cotton bolls will increase the dispersal of the seeds. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor percentages of waxes, fats, pectins, and water. Manually decontaminating cotton before processing at an Indian spinning mill (2010)Ĭotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus Gossypium in the mallow family Malvaceae.
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