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All About Cotton

Overview

Cotton has been cultivated in various parts of the world for many centuries. Archaeologists have found cotton cloth in caves in Mexico that dates to at least 7,000 years old. There is some evidence of cotton in Egypt as long ago as 12,000 B.C. Other findings have placed cotton in India (3000 B.C.), Peru (2500 B.C.) and southwestern U.S. (500 B.C.)

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, cotton is the most important textile fiber in the world. It accounts for more than 40 percent of total fiber production. Of the 80 countries that grow cotton, the largest producers - the United Sates, China and India - account for more than half of the output.

Cotton fiber and textiles are the most commonly thought of product from cotton plants. Interestingly, other products are also important, including cottonseed oil and animal feed. When harvested, roughly two-thirds of the crop is composed of the seed. By crushing this seed, it can be broken out into three product areas: oil, meal and hulls.

Cottonseed oil is commonly used in food preparation, especially cooking oil, shortening and salad dressing. The meal and hulls are used as feed for livestock, poultry and fish, as well as for fertilizer.

Did You Know?

  • Cotton is grown on every continent in the world except Antarctica.
  • The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) estimates that biotech cotton varieties were planted on 24 percent of the world cotton area in 2004/05, accounting for 35 percent of world production and 31 percent of cotton traded in the international market.
  • 90 percent of all cotton is derived from the long-staple "New World" varieties that became the preferred type with the start of the Industrial Revolution.
  • In addition to the textile industry, cotton is used in paper (and U.S. currency), coffee filters, fish nets and tents.
  • Cottonseed oil is derived from crushing the cottonseed, and the left-over meal is generally fed to livestock.

Monsanto's Work with Cotton
Insect-resistant cotton was first introduced commercially by Monsanto, under the Bollgard brand, in 1996 in the United States and Australia. It provided in-seed protection against potent insect pests, including the cotton bollworm, tobacco budworm and pink bollworm. A year later, glyphosate-tolerant cotton was introduced as Roundup Ready cotton. In 1997, these traits were "stacked" in a single seed, providing growers combined benefits. Continued research investment has led to second-generation versions of Bollgard cotton and Roundup Ready cotton, with enhanced traits that provide significant advantages to farmers.

Adoption of these Monsanto products in the cotton-growing regions of the world has been rapid. The experience in India, where acreage doubled to 3 million acres in 2005, clearly demonstrates the benefits to farmers. In India, use of Bollgard technology:

  • reduced spending by 81 percent per acre on pesticides used to control the cotton bollworm
  • decreased pesticide applications used to control the cotton bollworm by 74 percent
  • increased profit per acre by more than 60 percent.

Note: Materials for this essay were drawn from multiple sources. For more information, readers are encouraged to explore this Monsanto Internet site, including our 2005 Annual Report, as well as the following sites: