Template:TitlePage Plant Spotlight
From Aggiegreenhouse
Plant Spotlight: Tues, Oct 6, 2009
It's that time of the year. No, not the holidays. It's the WINTER CROP time of the year. Don't get too excited. But what grows in cold weather and has played a HUGE part in transforming the lives of people since the founding of the U.S.A. You guess it: C-O-T-T-O-N. It is, "spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile, which is the most widely used natural-fiber cloth in clothing today." Rayon came to us from France in the 1890s and competes with the natural fiber of cotton. The USA is the world leader in cotton exports with average price received by farmers at $45.30 this year.
Leading cotton-producing countries
Top ten cotton producers — 2009 (480-pound bales) | |
---|---|
PRC | 32.5 million bales |
IND | 24.3 million bales |
USA | 13.0 million bales |
PAK | 9.2 million bales |
BRA | 5.4 million bales |
Source:National Cotton Council of America - Rankings |