Cotton comes from cultivated plants of the genus Gossypium. They have been cultivated since ancient times for their fibers that are used as textiles. Cotton is a part of our everyday life from the moment we dry our faces on a soft cotton towel in the morning until we slip between fresh cotton sheets at night. It has hundreds of uses, from jeans to shoes. Clothing and household items are the largest uses, but industrial products count for many thousands of bullets. Cotton has other uses, more surprising also for medicines and oil seed mattresses and even sausage skins.
Cotton is planted in spring when temperatures are above 16 degrees Celsius. Cotton seeds germinate 7-10 days. The bud, also known as a "square", appears about 5-7 weeks after planting which forms flowers. White flowers pollinate, turn pink, and then wilt, producing green capsules. The green bolls ripen into cotton bolls with the fluffy white fibers. Plants are irrigated, fertilized, and weed, as needed, during the growth cycle.
The cotton is defoliated, a process in which the leaves are removed and the cotton is then harvested and compressed into "module" size trucks and sent to the cotton gin. The gin separates the cotton fibers from the seeds. Saw gin is mainly used for processing Upland cotton and roll gin is used for Pima cotton.
Like lumber, cotton comes in many varieties and qualities, each suitable for different purposes. Long fluff fibers are used for many things, most of which start with a cotton thread, thread, or fabric. Clothes and bedding are common products. The smaller cotton fibers, known as linters, are removed from the seed and used as fillers for furniture and linoleum, plastic and insulation components. Cottonseed oil is used in food and cosmetics. The cotton seed hulls are eaten by cattle.
