3.1 Origin and History
Cotton, the single and largest natural source of fiber, is an important crop of global
significance. Cotton plant (Gossypium hirsutum) is an herb, grown annually and
classified under Gossypium genus of Malvaceae family. The uniqueness of the
cottonseed plant is that it is grown for both the purpose of seed (for both food and
feed) and lint (as fiber in textile industry). This is not known exactly from where the
history of cotton agriculture started. However, the plant is native of tropical and
subtropical America, Carabbia, and some Pacific Islands. Cotton was brought to
Europe in 800 A.D. by Arab merchants. The plant height varies from approximately
1.5 to 2.0 m. Moderate rainfall, adequate sunshine, and soil with moisture holding
capability are ideal conditions for optimum growth of the plant. The plant produces
cup-shaped flowers along with big, fleshy petals and a purple or reddish base, which
after pollination gets converted into the shape of a leathery capsule called boll. These
bolls are usually 4–6 cm long and beaked at the tip. They may contain either three or
five compartments. Each compartment may contain up to 11 hairy and fuzzy
cottonseeds covered with long wooly hair-like fiber. The seeds are removed from
these fibers by the process known as “ginning.” The oil can be extracted from fiberfree cottonseeds either through mechanical extraction or direct solvent extraction
process or pre-press solvent extraction method. This cottonseed oil has wide applications in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industry. The dry cake left behind
after pressing is known as cottonseed meal (CSM). This meal is rich in protein,
therefore, used as a feed for ruminants in countries where cotton is a regular crop
such as India, China, and the USA. Additionally, CSM is also used for production of
potential value-added products such as wood adhesives (Cheng et al. 2013),
bioplastics (Yue et al. 2012), films, super adsorbent hydrogels (Zhang et al. 2010),
antioxidant meal hydrolysates (Gao et al. 2010), and bio oil/diesel (Singh et al.
2014).
3.2 Production
As per FAOSTAT, total production of cottonseed and cotton lint worldwide in 2014
was 4698.80 and 2615.67 MMT, respectively. China is the leading producer of
cottonseed with total production of 1232 MMT in 2014, followed by India
(1230 MMT), the USA (464.93 MMT), and Pakistan (444.27 MMT). The cottonseed production (1965–2014) of the major producing countries is shown in Fig. 3.1.
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M. K. Sihag et al.
Cotton, the single and largest natural source of fiber, is an important crop of global
significance. Cotton plant (Gossypium hirsutum) is an herb, grown annually and
classified under Gossypium genus of Malvaceae family. The uniqueness of the
cottonseed plant is that it is grown for both the purpose of seed (for both food and
feed) and lint (as fiber in textile industry). This is not known exactly from where the
history of cotton agriculture started. However, the plant is native of tropical and
subtropical America, Carabbia, and some Pacific Islands. Cotton was brought to
Europe in 800 A.D. by Arab merchants. The plant height varies from approximately
1.5 to 2.0 m. Moderate rainfall, adequate sunshine, and soil with moisture holding
capability are ideal conditions for optimum growth of the plant. The plant produces
cup-shaped flowers along with big, fleshy petals and a purple or reddish base, which
after pollination gets converted into the shape of a leathery capsule called boll. These
bolls are usually 4–6 cm long and beaked at the tip. They may contain either three or
five compartments. Each compartment may contain up to 11 hairy and fuzzy
cottonseeds covered with long wooly hair-like fiber. The seeds are removed from
these fibers by the process known as “ginning.” The oil can be extracted from fiberfree cottonseeds either through mechanical extraction or direct solvent extraction
process or pre-press solvent extraction method. This cottonseed oil has wide applications in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industry. The dry cake left behind
after pressing is known as cottonseed meal (CSM). This meal is rich in protein,
therefore, used as a feed for ruminants in countries where cotton is a regular crop
such as India, China, and the USA. Additionally, CSM is also used for production of
potential value-added products such as wood adhesives (Cheng et al. 2013),
bioplastics (Yue et al. 2012), films, super adsorbent hydrogels (Zhang et al. 2010),
antioxidant meal hydrolysates (Gao et al. 2010), and bio oil/diesel (Singh et al.
2014).
3.2 Production
As per FAOSTAT, total production of cottonseed and cotton lint worldwide in 2014
was 4698.80 and 2615.67 MMT, respectively. China is the leading producer of
cottonseed with total production of 1232 MMT in 2014, followed by India
(1230 MMT), the USA (464.93 MMT), and Pakistan (444.27 MMT). The cottonseed production (1965–2014) of the major producing countries is shown in Fig. 3.1.
74
M. K. Sihag et al.