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Fig. 10.1 Major cotton-producing countries. Area of each circle is proportional to total cotton
produced in 2011 (Based on data from International Cotton Advisory Committee)
227 kg (depending on country), for transport to spinning mills where the bale is
opened and the lint processed through spinning. Fuzzy seed from ginning is crushed
for oil or used as a stock animal feed.
Although originating from more tropical environments, human selection, breed-
ing, and changes in agronomic management have allowed cotton to expand into
more temperate regions (outside its original area of evolution), and now the bulk of
production is well removed from the equator (see Fig.
10.1
). World output of cotton
was over 27 million tonnes in 2011 representing about 35 % of global textile fiber. It
was produced on less than 36 million hectares spread across up to 100 producing
countries [
16
]. The top ten producers, however, generate over 90 % of the worlds
crop, with China and India together amounting to half of all the cotton harvested.
The other major producers in decreasing order of output were the USA, Pakistan,
Brazil, Australia, Uzbekistan, and Turkey (Table
10.3
). India has by far the largest
area under cotton cultivation (over 12 million ha), but its relatively low yields
relegate it to only the second largest producer.
The importance of yield in modern cotton production systems cannot be
overstated, particularly in an era with fierce competition from synthetic textiles.
High yield ensures cheaper cost of production per unit of fiber, and yield-gross
margin will keep the crop profitable to encourage the choice of cotton as a crop by
growers. There is a wide range in national yields across the major producers
(Table
10.3
), and this is a reflection of the differing levels of fragmentation,
mechanization, irrigation, and chemical inputs and varying agronomic and envi-
ronmental challenges in those different countries. Around half of the world crop is
irrigated, and the rest is either rain-grown or only partially irrigated [
17
]. Figure
10.2
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