Published Jun 01, 2023
Cotton is a Kharif crop, prevalent in the Indian textile industry for 5000 years. It is classified into three different categories: long, medium and short staple cotton.
Planting starts during Spring. It blooms after 8-10 weeks, while the cotton bolls open 50-70 days post-blooming. The next step is picking, moduling, ginning and making fibres.
Cotton is a soft, comfortable, natural fabric for making clothes, curtains and sheets. The seed oil finds its use in food and cosmetics.
Gujarat stands atop with 26.95 lakh hectares of land under cultivation. Maharashtra, Telangana, Rajasthan and Haryana are among the top 5 producers.
India is the world’s largest cotton producer, accounting for 125.84 lakh hectares under cotton production. Next to India are China, the US, Brazil and Pakistan.
As per the fiscal year data for 2022, the yield of cotton produced in India was roughly 445 kilograms per hectare, a decrease from the previous year.