Gossypium

Flower of Gossypium darwinii.

Species of the genus Gossypium, cultivated to produce cotton or lint, are herbaceous plants and shrubs of the family Malvaceae with some 60 accepted specific and infra-specific taxa, of the almost 380 described, all native to tropical and subtropical regions of both the Old and New Worlds and a few have been introduced to many other sites.

Etymology

• Gossýpium: Latin gossyp catering,, the algodonero (Gossypium arboreum and Gossypium herbaceum). In Pliny the Old, Naturalis History, 12, 21 and 19, 14. Apparently, Arabic quoz"sedose matter" derived from Goz"Save."

Description

Annual herbs, subshrubs, shrubs or small trees -up to 3 m tall in the wild-, with black oil glands. Ramous stems, erect or decumbent, pubescent. Leaves 3-9-palmatilobate, rarely undivided, rarely trifoliate; stipules persistent or deciduous. Flowers solitary or in cymose inflorescences. Glandular epicalyx with 3-7 pieces, free or welded at the base, from filiform to foliaceous, entire, toothed or deeply lacinate, sometimes hiding the calyx, persistent, rarely deciduous. Calyx cupuliform, truncated or 5-dented, rarely deeply 5-lobed. Petals with rounded apex and much longer than the calyx, from pinkish or purplish to whitish/yellowish, with or without a purplish spot at the base. Staminal column with numerous anthers along its entire length and a truncated apex. Ovary from tri to penta-locular, style short, tubular and clavate due to the coalescence of the stigmas, which are decurrent. Fruit in a capsule with loculicidal dehiscence; locules from bi to polyspermous. Seeds subglobose, more or less angular, densely covered with hairs much longer than themselves, and sometimes mixed with short hairs, rarely almost glabrous.

Subdivisions (with the main accepted taxa)

• Subgender:
  • Gossypium
    • Section:
      • Gossypium
        • Subsection:
          • Anomala:
            • Gossypium anomalum Wawra
              • Gossypium anomalum anomalum
              • Gossypium anomalum senarense (Fenzl ex Wawra & Peyr.) Vollesen
            • Gossypium triphyllum (Harv.) Hochr.
          • Gossypium:
            • Gossypium arboreum L.
              • Gossypium arboreum var. obtusifolium (Roxb.) Roberty
            • Gossypium herbaceum L.
              • Gossypium herbaceum var. acerifolium (Guill. Perr.) A.Chev.
              • Gossypium herbaceum africanum(G.Watt) Vollesen
          • Longiloba:
            • Gossypium longicalyx J.B.Hutch.
          • Pseudopambak:
            • Gossypium areysianum Deflers
            • Gossypium benadirense Mattei
            • Gossypium bricchettii (Ulbr.) Vollesen
            • Gossypium incanum (O.Schwartz) Hillc.
            • Gossypium somalense (Gürke) J.B.Hutch.
            • Gossypium stocksii Mast.
            • Gossypium vollesenii Fryxell
    • Section:
      • Serrata:
        • Gossypium trifurcatum Vollesen
• Subgender:
  • Houzingenia
    • Section:
      • Erioxylum
        • Subsection:
          • American:
            • Gossypium raimondii Ulbr.
          • Erioxylum:
            • Gossypium aridum (Rose & Standl.) Skovst.
            • Gossypium laxum L.Ll.Phillips
            • Gossypium lobatum Gentry
            • Gossypium schwendimanii Fryxell & S.D.Koch
          • Selera
    • Section:
      • Houzingenia
        • Subsection:
          • Caducibracteolata:
            • Gossypium harknessii Brandegee
              • Gossypium harknessii armourianum (Kearney) Roberty
            • Gossypium turneri Fryxell
          • Houzingenia:
            • Gossypium trilobum (DC.) Skovst.
          • Integrifolia:
            • Gossypium klotzschianum Andersson
              • Gossypium klotzschianum var. davidsonii (Kellogg) J. B. Hutch.
• Subgender:
  • Karpas:
    • Gossypium barbadense L.
    • Gossypium darwinii G.Watt
    • Gossypium hirsutum L.
    • Gossypium mustelinum Miers ex G.Watt
  • Sturtia:
    • Section:
      • Grandicalyx:
        • Gossypium anapoides J.M.Stewart et al., nom. inva
        • Gossypium costulatum Tod.
        • Gossypium cunninghamii Tod.
        • Gossypium enthyle Fryxell et al.
        • Gossypium exiguum Fryxell et al.
        • Gossypium londonderriense Fryxell et al.
        • Gossypium marchantii Fryxellet al.
        • Gossypium nobile Fryxell et al.
        • Gossypium pilosum Fryxell
        • Gossypium populifolium (Benth.) F. Muell. ex Tod.
        • Gossypium pulchellum (C.A.Gardner) Fryxell
        • Gossypium rotundifolium Fryxell et al.
    • Hibiscoida:
      • Gossypium bickii Prokh.
        • Gossypium nelsonii Fryxell
      • Sturtia:
        • Gossypium nandewarense Derera
        • Gossypium robinsonii F. Muell.
        • Gossypium sturtianumJ.H.Willis

Species

All species accepted

Complete list of all the taxa described, accepted and synonyms: [2]

Species present in the Iberian Peninsula

• G. arboreum - Sporadically cultivated in Portugal (Alentejo) and Spain (south and southeast).
• G. Beards - It was sculpted in Portugal (Alentejo) and Spain (Mallorca).
• G. herbaceum - It was cultivated in southern Portugal (Alentejo and Beira Baixa) and is cultivated in Spain (Extremadura, western Andalusia, Murcia, Valencia, Aragon, Catalonia and Balearic Islands). Locally naturalized.
• G. hirsutum - Cultivated in Portugal (Alentejo) and Spain (Provinces of Cadiz, Cordoba, Seville and Murcia).

Cultivated species

Commercial cotton fibers, used to make fabrics, derive from the following species and their innumerable varieties/cultivars:

• G. arboreum L. – Cotton tree, native to South Asia.
• G. herbaceum L. – Up cotton, native to South Africa.
• G. hirsutum L. – Native of Central America, the Caribbean and South Florida.
• G. Beards L. – The native cottons of Peru (Pima and Tangüis and their respective cultivars) belong to this species, as well as Creole cotton, native to tropical South America.

Diotomical keys for cultivated species:

• 1: epiclax lobes soldiers in the base, whole or with 3-7 teeth 1-2 times longer than widths or wider than lengths; cup shaped chalice, whole or almost truncated, seldom lobed; staminal column filaments more or less equals in length oriented (2)
• 1: epiclax lobes free in the base, with teeth 3-4 times longer than widths; chalice with 5 teeth, sometimes lobed or truncated; filaments of the staminal column unequal in length, the longest superiors  (3)

• (2): 1- limbos of palmed leaves with 3-5 lobes; epiclax lobes longer than widths, integers or with 3-4 teeth near the apex; conical capsules of conical apice ▪ G. arboreum
• (2): 2- limbos of palmed leaves with 3-5 (or 7) lobes; epiclax lobes wider than long, with 6-8 teeth near the apex; ovoid capsules of apice picudo ▪ G. herbaceum

• (3): 1- lobes of broadly triangular leaves to ova-orbiculars; 3-piece epicaliz with 7-9 teeth near the apex; short staminal column (1–2 cm) with extended filaments; ovoid capsule; seeds with long wool and short wool persistent ▪ G. hirsutum
• (3): 2- limbo lobes of ovate leaves to oblongos; epicaliz of 5 pieces or more, with 10 -15 teeth; long staminal column (3.5–4 cm) with erect filaments; oblongo-ovoid capsule; long wool seeds and wool cut easily expires ▪ G. Beards

Products obtained from the cotton plant

"Cotton from beginning to end", in "The Home and School Reference Work, Volume II", 1917.

Cotton is a highly valued crop because only 10% of its weight is lost in processing. When the cotton boll (seed capsule) is opened, the fibers dry into entanglements with each other, which is ideal for making yarn. Each fiber is composed of 20 or 30 layers of cellulose, wound on a series of natural springs. This cellulose is arranged in a certain way that gives cotton unique properties of durability, strength, and absorbency. The fiber is used to make yarns and yarns, which are woven and dyed to form fabrics, which in turn are cut and sewn to form garments.

Seed fiber

The fiber composition of cottonseeds is almost pure cellulose. Its color is white, pale yellow or slightly reddish. It is more or less silky, strong to a greater or less degree, and long. As for the thickness, it varies from 6 to 29 hundredths of a millimeter per fiber. Long-staple cotton is used to make tastos, indianas, etc. The homogeneity of these, their elasticity, resistance and color are the qualities that most directly influence the higher or lower estimate of cotton.

Other fibers

Paper money, such as Euro bills, or the US dollar, is usually made entirely of cellulose (carbohydrate) from fibers taken from the part attached to the cotton seed that cannot be used for domestic use. textile and that is obtained from the cleaning of the seed prior to the eventual oil extraction process.

History of cotton production

Cotton carder in India, 1774-1781.

The manufacture of cotton fabrics began in the Hindustan area since ancient times. In the time of Herodotus, who wrote in the year 443 a. c.:

«They possess a kind of plant that, instead of fruit, produces wool of a quality more beautiful and better than that of the rams: from it the Indians make their dresses.» (Herodoto, lilb. III, chap. 106).

And if at this time, people already wore cotton dresses, it is likely that this custom went back many centuries. It should also be noted that the same historian mentions this plant as a particular plant in India and, on the other hand, does not speak of vegetable wool used to make clothes. In precise terms, he says that the Babylonians' clothes were made of linen and wool and that those of the Egyptians were only made of linen, with the exception of the white woolen scarf or shawl that the priests put on their backs outside of their functions. ministry. Thus, it can be safely concluded that at this time the manufacture of cotton cloth was generally widespread in India but that it did not exist in any region west of the Indus.

Arrienus also, in his History of Alexander, corroborates the quote from Herodotus with his testimony. Strabo, speaking of the Indians, mentions, according to the authority of Nearco, their colored or Indian cotton fabrics and adds that in his time (he died in the year 35 AD) cotton was grown and dresses were made with it. in the province located at the entrance of the Persian Gulf (Estrab., lib. xv.). In the time of Pliny the Elder, fifty years after Strabo, the cotton plant was known in Upper Egypt, as well as on the island of Tilos, in the Persian Gulf:

«In the Upper-Egypt, towards Arabia, grows a bush that calls them Gossypion and others Xylon. It is small and bears a fruit similar to a hazelnut in which there is a silky hair that is boiled. With him they make magnificent vestments for the priests of Egypt and nothing is comparable to these beautiful scams for their softness and softness.»

In the description of the island of Tilos, the same writer cites, according to the Greek naturalist Theophrastus, among the notable productions of this island: Wool-bearing trees with leaves perfectly similar to those of the vine but smaller.

«These trees bear a fruit like a zucchini and the bulk of a quince reached its degree of maturity, opens with a burst and lets you see a woolly hair from which they are dressed as a precious linen scam.»

Commercial History of Cotton

Asian

Manufacture of cotton in Jerusalem, 1880.

The first mention of cotton as a trade object is found in the precious ancient trade document known as the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (Periplus maris Erythrae), by Amano, who we have mentioned above and who lived towards the last years of the first century of the Christian era. This writer, who was also a merchant and navigator, sailed through this part of the Ocean, which stretches from the Red Sea to the remotest confines of India, and particularly described the import and export objects of many cities of this country, objects of which his trade with the Arabs and the Greeks consisted. According to this work, it seems that the Arabs brought cotton from India to Aduli, a port on the Red Sea; that the ports on the other side of this sea had an established trade with Potato (in the Indus), Ariake and Barygaza (modern Barocha) and from them received cotton goods of different species. That Barygaza exported a large quantity of Indians, muslins and other cotton fabrics, smooth or with flowers, manufactured in the provinces to which it was connected by the port of this city as well as in the interior of the most remote regions of India. That Masaba (today Masulipatam) was then, as it has always been since, famous for its factories of excellent cotton stuffing and that the muslins of Bengal were at this time superior to all others and called by the Greeks Gangitiki , a name indicating that they were made on the banks of the Ganges.

It has been seen, according to Strabo, Pliny and the Periplus, that the manufacture of cotton pottery at the time of the Christian era had extended to Egypt and Persia and that the exquisite products of Indian fabrics, such as smooth or patterned muslin and Indian cloth, were bought by Greek navigators in the ports of Egypt and Arabia from where they later penetrated, as can be presumed, the capital of the Roman Empire as well as some cities wealthy of Greece. Cotton goods, however, were not to be the object of considerable, or even regular, importance to Rome and Greece since no direct mention is made of them by their writers, who did not disdain to deal with other products imported from Orient, such as gold, spices, precious stones and even silk.

To anyone who has observed the rapid progress of the cotton industry, it must seem extraordinary that this branch of trade remained on the shores of the Mediterranean for 1,300 years, before crossing this sea to enter Greece and Italy and that the products so perfect ones from the factories of India were not sought after nor imported in great quantity in the Roman empire.

This is what happened with silk; Although at a high price and coming from a region as far away as China, silk was eagerly sought after by the ladies of Rome and particularly by those of the capital of the Lower Empire. Silkworms, as well as the art of manufacturing their products, were imported from China to Constantinople by two Persian monks, under Justinian, in the year 552, and everything suggests that cotton goods from India were also imported there at the same time, because they are included in the list of merchandise that paid duties in Justinian's Digest of the Laws. But as writers seldom speak of them, while silken stuffing is frequently mentioned, it is probable that they were not highly esteemed, and that the trade to which they gave rise was not very considerable.

In 1251, cotton stews were already an important article of trade for clothing in the Crimea and northern Russia where they were brought from Turkestan. Armenia also had at this time a factory of very beautiful cotton fabrics and this vegetable wool grew abundantly in Persia and in this country it was manufactured in all the provinces that surround the Indus.

But, a curious fact, also confirmed by Chinese annals, is that the Chinese people remained without cotton factories until the middle of the 13th century, when this industry in particular flourished for three thousand years in India, a neighboring country from China. However, for a long time before this time, cotton was known in China but it was only cultivated in gardens and if any stew was made with its product, it was only as an object of curiosity, while in the 9th century, silk dresses were worn there by all the inhabitants, from the villager to the prince. The cultivation of cotton, considered as an object of utility, was not introduced into China until after the conquest of this empire by the Tartars, and a formidable resistance was put up against this new industry by the workers employed in the manufacture of woolen and silk blankets.. But its many advantages soon made it triumph over its adversaries in China, as elsewhere, and by the year 1368 it prevailed throughout the empire.

Africa

Cotton collectors.

The cultivation of cotton and the manufacture of cotton stews were established, in ancient times and probably by the Muslims, in all parts of Africa, located north of the equator. In the year 1590, cotton cloth from an indigenous factory from Benin, in the Gulf of Guinea, was brought to London, and a few centuries earlier this industry had flourished in Morocco and Fez. On the other hand, it is true that the various species of cotton grow in abundance on the banks of Senegal, Gambia, Niger, Timbuktu, Sierra Leone, the Cape Verde Islands, the coasts of Guinea, Abyssinia, and all over the world. the interior and that the natives everywhere wear dresses of cotton fabrics made by them, often dyed fabrics, adorned with drawings, sometimes mixed with silk and of admirable workmanship. Cotton is also, of all the stuffs with which one can dress, the most convenient under the torrid zone, and hot climates are so favorable to cotton, as its abundant products are the least expensive material for the manufacture of stuffs.

America

Cotton load in New Orleans, finals. XIX.

When the discovery of the New World, the manufacture of cotton fabrics had already reached a high degree of perfection on this continent and the Mexicans wove their main dresses with this material since they lacked wool, hemp, silk and they did not use the flax, which nevertheless grew in that country. Abbot Clavijero says:

"The Mexicans made their broad cotton fabrics as fine and as beautiful as Holland's fabrics and were very estimated in Europe. Among those present sent to Carlos V, by Cortés, the conqueror of Mexico, were seen layers, sucks, handkerchiefs, banovas and cotton tapestries. They also made cotton paper; one of their coins consisted of small pieces of cotton, etc."

In the Aztec and Mayan civilizations, only the nobility wore cotton attire; raw cotton, cotton cloth, and cotton garments were given as tribute to rulers.

Cotton has been cultivated for about five thousand years in Peru. The large area of domestication of this fiber in natural colors is on the north coast (Lambayeque, Piura, Tumbes), from there it spread to large areas of the Peruvian and Brazilian Amazon region. The cotton seed domesticated by the cultures of the Peruvian north coast has given rise to improved biotypes of cotton in Egypt (giza cotton, considered the best in the world) and the United States (pima cotton). American). Some American pima seeds were re-introduced to their center of origin, once again producing better quality Peruvian pima cotton. In Peru, after a law that prohibited, during the XX century, the cultivation of colored cotton to benefit the production and export of white cotton, in May 2008 (four years after its declaration as national patrimony) said law was annulled to move to a program of rescue and development of native biotypes. Some natural colors such as black, red and blue cotton are still lost, but there is evidence of their existence in the archaeological remains of the area; now they are recovering native organic cotton in colors such as: tan, colored (brown), vicuña, orange, reddish brown, pink, lilac and green. COPROBA, a government agency of Peru, declared Peruvian cotton as "Flagship Product of Peru" on July 28, 2004. From the pre-Inca legacy, the use of cotton in textile art stands out, mainly from the Paracas, Chimú and Chancay cultures.

Columbus himself recognized that cotton grew wild and in great abundance on Hispaniola, on the islands of Western India, and on the mainland of South America, where the inhabitants wore cotton and cotton clothing. They made fishing nets. And the Brazilians, at the time of Magellan's voyage around the world, had the custom of making their beds with cotton.

Cotton factory in Boston, 1813-1816.

There can be no doubt that cotton is indigenous to America as well as to India and the art of converting its products into threads and fabrics probably goes back to the time of the first establishment, whatever it may be, formed on this continent but the wise men they are sharply divided on the date. What can be said is that the cotton industry in America goes back to a very long time.

Europe

Europe is the part of the world where the art of manufacturing cotton has penetrated later, it is in revenge that where ingenuity made it make rapid progress.

Cotton was naturalized in Spain, in the fertile plains of Valencia and its product used in the manufacture of beautiful stews, from the 10th century at the latest, when factories were established in Córdoba, Granada and Seville. The cotton fabrics manufactured in the kingdom of Granada were considered in the fourteenth century to be superior to those of Assyria in softness, fineness and beauty.

Cotton rags quickly became one of the most flourishing branches of industry in Barcelona. Capmany, the historian of commerce of this city, says that

"Among the various fabrics that distinguished Barcelona earlier, the most important were cotton fabrics. The manufacturers of this kind of scam, which formed a corporation since the thirteenth century, prepared and spun cotton for the weaving of different scams that were manufactured, mainly to make it candle keys. This branch of industry led to widespread commercial transactions in this city which was for more than five centuries the apostolate of the Spanish squads. »

"The Cotton Office in New Orleans", Edgar Degas, 1873.

Many fustanes are also made. The Arabs of Spain also made cotton paper and it is likely that this art was introduced to the country by the Saracens, who had learned it when they took over Samarkand in the seventh century and established a paper factory in Salibah after the conquest. The introduction of this useful industry in the rest of Europe encountered great obstacles and the main one was perhaps the contempt that the Christians professed for the Muslims and for everything from them.

Until the beginning of the XIV century, there are no signs of the manufacture of cotton fabrics in Italy. Merrino, the historian of trade in Venice, says that at this time the cotton industry was introduced in Venice and Milan, where strong and thick cotton stuffs such as fustans and bombasids were made. Everything leads one to believe that they were made with cotton spun from Syria and Asia Minor from where the Italians and the French in recent times regularly imported this article.

Francesco Guicciardini in his description of the Netherlands, in 1560, says:

"Amberes imported from Venice and Milan, cotton scams, fustans and bombs of different and beautiful qualities. »

He also talks about cotton fabrics being manufactured in large quantities in Bruges and Ghent. It is difficult to specify the time when Turkey received the art of manufacturing cotton, but it is rightly believed that it was in the XIV century , at the time of the conquest of the Turks in Romania; because the victors had to bring their arts with them and the use of cotton clothing is widespread in Asia Minor. Since this century, cotton has been found in favorable soil and climate in Romania and Macedonia where it is cultivated.

Growing Cotton

Cotton Harvester.

Cotton has been planted in India for over three thousand years, and is mentioned in the "Rigveda", composed around 1500 BCE. C. A thousand years later the great Greek historian Herodotus wrote about Indian cotton: "There are trees that grow wild, of which the fruit is a wool better and more beautiful than that of a sheep. The Indians make their clothing from the wool of this tree." The Indian cotton industry was eclipsed during the English industrial revolution, when the invention of the "Spinning Jenny" in 1764 and the revolving frame in 1769 allowed mass production in the UK. Production capacity was improved by the invention of "cotton gin" by Eli Whitney in 1793.

Today cotton is produced in many parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and Australia using cotton plants that have been genetically modified for more fiber. Genetically modified cotton was a commercial disaster in Australia. Dividends were much lower than expected and conventional cotton plants were pollinated with transgenic varieties causing legal problems for growers.^{[citation needed]}

The cotton industry uses a large amount of chemicals (fertilizers, insecticides, etc.), polluting the environment. Because of this, some farmers are opting for the organic production model.^{[citation needed]}

50% of cotton comes from the four largest producing countries: China, India, the United States and Pakistan.

Cotton Ginning

Modern cotton ginning is a continuous process performed in a cotton gin, beginning with the receipt of raw cotton (also called raw cotton or seed cotton), and ending with the packing of the processed cotton fibers. Cotton ginning produces large amounts of solid by-products in the form of seeds (which can serve as animal feed) and gin waste emits pollutants such as cotton dust and lint. In order to reduce the incidence of pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella) in waste, in certain countries, the movement and disposal of cottonseed body and gin waste is strictly regulated. Where regulations allow, the seed is sent to mills that extract the oil. Waste produced by the gin can be disposed of by composting, fumigating, sterilizing, or incinerating. In some countries they are burned in the open air, causing nuisance, air pollution and odor problems.

The main health problem arising from ginning is related to dust. Exposure to excessive levels of cotton dust causes byssinosis, a serious respiratory disease. Also, excessive noise can be a problem in this industry.

World cotton fiber production

	Country	Global fiber production (2011)
1	ChinaChina	10.835,000
2	India	5.984,000
3	United States	3.412.550
4	Pakistan	2.312,000
5	Brazil	1.673.340
6	Uzbekistan	983.400
7	Turkey	954.600
8	Australia	843.572
9	Turkmenistan	330.000
10	Argentina	295,000
11	Greece	280,000
12	Mexico	274,000
13	Nigeria	177.020
14	Burkina Faso	175,000
15	Syria	151.320
16	Egypt	137,000
17	Burma	135,000
18	Kazakhstan	118,000
19	Tajikistan	103.400
20	Tanzania	102,000
Sources: UNITED NATIONS AGREEMENT AND FOLLOW-UP (FAO) (2011 data)

Transgenic cotton

Cotton field in northern Benin.

Some companies use genetic engineering to alter the nature of cotton to make it, for example, different colors. Multinational companies such as Monsanto have produced seeds from which different colors are obtained, especially the indigo blue used to make "jeans".
Plants have been developed in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region (China) that deliver red, green, blue or black fibers.

Others, on the other hand, use biotechnology to generate fibers that are much longer and more resistant but not thick. The company Natural Cotton Colors patented, in 1990, two varieties of cotton in natural colors: brown (Coyote) and green.

But not all the genetic variations of this crop point to its coloration. Many of the modifications seek to make the plant more resistant to some types of pests, such as the Bt Cotton variety; or resistant to specific herbicides such as the Roundup Ready variety, from Monsanto, resistant to glyphosate (Roundup).

Despite resistance to the use of transgenics, already in 1997 25% of the areas planted with this crop in the United States corresponded to genetically modified varieties. Another of the large producers, India, gave way to the transgenic crop in 2001, in its variety Bt.

In the Mexican pre-Hispanic society of the Toltecs, it was known how to obtain cotton of various colors (blue, turquoise, green, orange, red). It is not known for sure how they obtained it, but it may be due to the use of mineral dyes with which the plants were watered.