Talk:Cotton/Archive 1

Gandhi

In the article it describes Gandhi as an "Indian Patriot". Now this is true,but this doesn't strike me as the best term to describe him.

128.205.75.215 (talk) 05:59, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

I totally agree. =D —Preceding unsigned comment added by Weshouldlearnright (talk • contribs) 12:20, 20 October 2009 (UTC)

Why not? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.37.250.233 (talk) 19:35, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

Layout

Someones messed up the layout at the top. :S —Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.143.64.207 (talk) 15:56, 4 October 2007 (UTC)

Picture problem

I can't see the picture on the top of the page. I don't know how to fix it. Rmhermen 14:56, Oct 15, 2003 (UTC)

It works from my school and at the local public library. - user:zanimum

GM cotton Australia

From recent newspaper accounts I doubt that this prediction for GM cotton in Australia came true. Does anyone have details on the actual current extant of GM cotton there? I added the old text but I haven't found recent details on cotton, only on canola, wheat, etc. Rmhermen 16:19, Apr 1, 2004 (UTC) ................................................................................................

Pesticide drift

Re: Photo documentation and commentary on collateral damage to the environment from cotton spraying This problem is not specific to cotton. Wouldn't this link be more appropriate in an article on pesticides or pesticide drift? H2O 02:11, 18 Jul 2004 (UTC)

I removed this link as it really doesn't belong in this article. H2O 06:48, 26 January 2006 (UTC)

YES, this is an important part of a cotton article; cotton consumes up to 50% of the world's pesticides, and in so doing kille the poor farmers who harvest it. It also kills people by drinking up so much water, so it is called a 'killer weed'.

Old/New Dichotomy

Why does it say old world and new world? why not europe and the americas? Old and New world dichotomies are based on colonial understandings of these spaces and is in no way educational in terms of the topic. Stating the geographical regions instead of implying one is old or new is both more correct and doesn't privledge one place or another. 10:05, Apr 22, 2005

Sugar cane and cotton

I have always assumed that sugar cane farming was what consumed most of the slave labour. This was from my high school history. From this article, it seems cotton was the major slave labour consumer.

The never-ending fields of fluff are said to have created more wealth, and more misery throughout history than almost any other legal crop. [1]

Depends on what country. Sugar cane was more important in the Caribbean and South America than in the U.S. Rmhermen 17:01, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

Natural environments suited to cotton

Why types of natural environments are best for cotton production? River valleys? Mountains?

--Jeffrey Henning 03:28, 3 January 2006 (UTC)

That's an interesting question. The fact is that cotton's native environment does not lend itself to high production which requires mechanization. I think it originated along the coast in a tropical environment. Cotton is naturally a perennial, so if there is no freeze it will keep growing and get so tall it is almost like a small tree. A good environment for growing cotton commercially is a warm spring, a hot summer, plenty of rainfall, and a good hard freeze at the end of the growing season. Flat ground and deep soils with good water holding capacity. Last year they had excellent rainfall around Lubbock and the dryland cotton did exceptionally well. But in many years this is not the case. It always comes down to water. H2O 06:42, 26 January 2006 (UTC)

Harvest season

OK, I know this is kind of random, but does anyone know during which season cotton is harvested?--Rockero 05:46, 19 February 2006 (UTC)

In Texas its fall. Starts in late Sept/Nov and ends in late Dec/early Jan. Anything else you would like to know? pschemp | talk 06:06, 19 February 2006 (UTC)

Thank you, and thanks for asking. Etymology would be nice. Its categorized as an Arabic word, which I have no reason to doubt since in Spanish it's "algodón", but generally, a category is only merited if it logically follows from the content of the article. If you don't mind.--Rockero 02:28, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

Etymology added.pschemp | talk 18:34, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

can anyone tell me a website that shows you like how cotton is grown in a field then taken into mills and made into yarn , etc ?

Like textile manufacturing#Cotton? Loggie (talk) 10:08, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Polyester vs Cotton

Which material makes stronger and tougher clothing? Zachorious 09:16, 13 March 2006 (UTC)

Polyester, generally, has higher strength, but high-quality cotton will often last longer when appropriate care is taken before it looks old and tired. Polyester is widely shunned in favor of cotton because of the former's inability to breathe and consequently polyester is less hygienic, more condusive to bacterial grownth under normal wearing conditions. But cotton will decay if left wet for long periods. There's no easy answer, though I prefer cotton (and other natural fibers) myself. Hajhouse 18:45, 13 March 2006 (UTC)

The answer is, it depends. It depends on the quality of both fibers, the blends, the spinning methods, the type of weave or knit, the finish on the fabric and the particular end use. You can't generalise. pschemp | talk 18:32, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

"Negro" used to describe people in photo

Pollinator, I'm still concerned about describing the people in that picture as "Negroes". Yes, the term was more acceptable in the 1890s, and like I implied in my edit summaries, I have no trouble quoting people of that time using the word "Negro". But when we put a caption on a picture, that's us, today in 2006, choosing words. So we should choose them according to our own standards. --Allen 05:24, 18 March 2006 (UTC)

Actually I would also prefer your usage. But this is history, and imposing modern political correctness is revisionism. There are a lot of things we wish we could change in history, but that's not possible, and we do a disservice to simply rewrite it.

Pollinator 05:27, 18 March 2006 (UTC)

I don't see how I'm proposing to rewrite history. If I describe the past in my own language, I'm not implying that my language was used in the past. I might say that the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids, but I wouldn't expect a pyramid worker to have identified as an "ancient Egyptian". --Allen 05:52, 18 March 2006 (UTC)

Pollinator, I have checked the following Wikipedia articles relating to black Americans who were alive when "Negro" was considered an acceptable term:

• Rosa Parks
• Jackie Robinson
• Frederick Douglass
• George Washington CarvEer
• Zora Neale Hurston
• Langston Hughes
• Crispus Attucks
• Fannie Lou Hamer
• History of slavery in the United States
• American Civil Rights Movement (1896-1954)
• American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)

None of these articles use the word "Negro" except in quotes, names of organizations, and titles. I don't think it should be used in Cotton, either. Thank you for responding to my original post above, but please respond again in more detail. The use of "Negro" in this article is a serious concern for me. --Allen 20:52, 18 March 2006 (UTC)

Pollinator, since you haven't responded I'm changing the wording in the caption again. If you still feel that the word "Negro" should be used in the caption, please discuss your thinking here. --Allen 00:33, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

Why is it necessary (for this article at least) to say what color the people are who are picking cotton in the photo? My understanding is that this is a general article about the cotton plant, not race relations. Why not just say "Picking Cotton in Oklahoma in the 1890s"? My white mother picked cotton and my wife's white Okie grandparents picked cotton. I myself sprayed herbicides and hoed weeds in the cotton fields as a teenager alongside Mexican-American laborers (or should I say Latino, Hispanic, who knows what is the right PC word these days?) The distinction might be relevant for an article on post civil war share-cropping, but I don't see the point of the caption at least in this article. It is just a distraction from the article, in my opinion. H2O 04:23, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

In the current context of the article, I agree with you; there's no need to mention race here at all. I'll change the caption again. I don't think an article on "Cotton" needs to be strictly biological; I think it could include more information about race relations and cottonpicking... but I agree that it would be even better for that information to be in separate articles. --Allen 11:54, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

i would best describe cotton pickers as an african american as myself i do not like the terms used nigger or negro it makes me so angry to hear those words so do many other african americans so please who ever wrote this articlce just get rid of that negro talk because im getting mad. (posted by 209.80.150.106)

Cotton has certainly caused a lot of suffering. However consider that without it African Americans would not have had as important a role in American and world history as they have. Wishing you the best. Steve Dufour 02:35, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

Why can't the photo just have a caption along the lines of "Harvesting cotton, 1880's". It isn't necessary to specify the ethnicity of the workers any more than it's necessary to specify the name of the farm or the time of day the photo was taken. Rusty2005 12:21, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

This seems to have been done. Steve Dufour 02:53, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

Style problem

Hi, the sentence beginning "This program," in the second paragraph of "Production and Processing," needs to be fixed (and I can't do it myself).

Cotton photo

Hello, fellow ag types! FYI - there are some great public domain photos to be found at NRCS Photo Gallery. This is just one of several I have found. H2O 00:53, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

This one is already listed at Wikipedia:Public domain image resources. You can find other similar sites also on that list. Rmhermen 16:31, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

Cotton Grown on Every Continent?

The article claims that cotton is grown on every continent. Really? They grow cotton in Antarctica? Are you sure? I've changed it so it makes clear that cotton is not grown in Antarctica. Sixtus LXVI 05:36, 8 July 2006 (UTC)

Regarding your question, Actually Cotton doesn't grow in Cold weather which means Cotton grows in Warm country. Yes, You are right. Daniel's page ☎ 22:39, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

Red Link.

I deleted the rink that was in Egyptian Cotton section, because it appeared as red link. Therefore, I changed 'Egyptian Cotton' into Egyptian Cotton from red link. Daniel's page ☎ 22:46, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

Version 0.5 review

I'd like to have included this important topic in version 0.5, but I think the article needs too much work. Other than the obvious lack of citations, I think many sections are too short, such as:

• The cotton plant deserves more than a short two sentences
• The cotton industry and things like weaving/mills are not covered well except in the history section
• I think there should be more on pests
• The chemical and physical properties of cotton would be interesting to include

Walkerma 04:12, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Please note that cotton plant is a separate article: Gossypium. Rmhermen 16:51, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Critical Temperatures

I think that the glow point is actually (or also) the flash point. I am not sure and cannot find any verification or standard for these terms. Someone more familiar with ignition temperatures needs to review this information. The values should be correct, but the terms are translated from German and could be incorrect. >>In USA "flash point" is defined for liquids and asphaltic semi-solids so wouldn't be appropriate here. This section implies that at 26°C cotton is a brittle and inflexible. This is NOT true and highly misleading. The author has apparently mis-interpreted the transportation document which states "> 25°" as meaning "any temperature above 25" rather than the more correct (IMHO) "at some unspecified temperature above 25". I suspect that the 25 degree number is there as a regulatory criteria rather than because of a technical fact.69.40.250.215 (talk) 20:54, 18 April 2009 (UTC)Dave Nalepa

Wet Cotton

It should mention what wet cotton is.

Assessment comment

The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Cotton/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.

I have assessed this article as B-class and identified the following areas for improvement: The article needs inline citations Doug.(talk • contribs) 05:15, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Substituted at 21:21, 19 March 2016 (UTC)

cotton weights

Can anyone explain cotton weights? For example, when a retailer advertises "800-gram-weight" towels, what does this mean? Eight hundred grams per what? What is the range of weights available? How is the weight increased, i.e. with thicker threads or more strands or a different weave or what? A quick web search revealed nothing on this subject.

Thanks very much.

Celebes Sea

Production by Nation

I think it might be a good idea to include a table/graph of raw cotton production by nation. Perhaps this is something to look at? 35.11.183.95 08:28, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Cotton was or was not mentioned in Rigveda

The article Cotton#History says there are several references to cotton in Rigveda ; where as details at Items_not_in_the_Rigveda this article says no mention of cotton in Rigveda.This difference needs to be explained in both the articles. Mahitgar 10:04, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

1738 Lewis Paul and John Wyatt

I have added the following taken from Science and Invention in Birmingham.

'1738: Lewis Paul and John Wyatt, of Birmingham, patented the Roller Spinning machine and the flyer-and-bobbin system, for drawing cotton to a more even thickness, using two sets of rollers that travelled at different speeds. This principle was the basis of Richard Arkwright later water frame, used in the many successful cotton spinning mill of the Industrial Revolution.'

The France Zone of Africa

Can someone explain what nations are in this zone and where it is in Africa. I also think that the article should be change to something like "the France zone of Africa which includes...."

Thanks...

cotton picking pictures

I am currently working on the Australian 07 picking season i have been taking a few pictures for souvenirs because thins is my first cotton season if anyone would like some more pictures to improve the article. i understand there are a lot already but some of the USDA pictures are a bit dodgy. below is a pic i took today this is the sort of quality i cant take. Cheers Beaver 04:50, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

Also the picker loads into a boll buggy not the module builder. cheers again Beaver 04:56, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

Egyptian Cotton = Pima Cotton

from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pima_cotton "Pima cotton (Gossypium barbadense), also known as Extra Long Staple, South American, Creole, Sea Island cotton, Egyptian, Algodon pais, and West Indische katoen, is a species of cotton plant which is widely cultivated though it originated in Peru. It is a tropical perennial plant that produces yellow flowers and has black seeds. It grows as a small, bushy tree and yields cotton with unusually long, silky fibers. In order to grow, it requires full sun and high humidity and rainfall. G. barbadense is also very sensitive to frost."

---

Peruvian Pima cotton is hand-picked cotton and identical to Egyptian Cotton!!

Egyptian Cotton

Does anyone have any gorgeous pictures of egyptian cotton growing on a plant. I saw it being hand-picked on an ad for Egypt Tourism.

Also, does Egyptian cotton have low yeild per hectare, compared to cheaper cottons, is that why its expensive? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Tri400 (talk • contribs) 04:35, 29 March 2007 (UTC).

Egyptian cotton is an introduced crop, primarily of the species indigenous to the Americas. It was introduced as late as the 19th century there by the British. In ancient times, the Egyptians made their clothing from linen, with a small quantity made from cotton imported from Mesopotamia. Tmangray (talk) 22:01, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Tmangray is right. I'm an Egyptologist and would correct this myself but for some stupid reason this article is locked. So much for promoting accuracy on Wikipedia. If you can't even correct mistakes... --68.72.109.116 (talk) 23:25, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

The page is protected because of a spat of recent vandalism. However, I don't think the article is incorrect in its treatment of Egypt. Cotton was certainly grown in Egypt and Nubia in the Roman era, long before America was discovered. The modern production of cotton in Egypt is of the American type cotton but it is not clear whether the old cotton was of the African or the Asian type. Rmhermen (talk) 03:48, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

The sources all indicate that cotton may have been grown in the Nile Valley (I have not seen an indication of the species), but it was always a minor source of fiber compared to flax. The sources also indicate that it was a luxury, mainly imported from Mesopotamia. None of the cotton available then has anything to do with what is called Egyptian Cotton today. Tmangray (talk) 16:54, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

What I said. But I fail to see where the article makes false claims that need corrected. Rmhermen (talk) 23:48, 25 June 2008 (UTC)

shrinking

nothing about shrinking or caring for cotton?

Very Informed Man

This see also link looks very strange:

One very well informed man of cotton is Dr. Rafiq Chaudhry and is head of the Technical Advisory Committee in Washington D.C

As true as it may be about Dr. Chaudhry's credentials, it is not a suitable title for a link as

• It is too long
• It does not say anything about the content of the page being linked to (Cost of cotton production globally)
• Gives no evidence of the claimed authority of this source

Can someone in the know modify this to something more suitable? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.34.75.65 (talk) 09:50, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

So the cotton plant is a shrub. Is it replanted yearly as some of the photos suggest? Or does it stay in the ground for a few years? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 113.190.179.203 (talk) 23:09, 21 February 2011 (UTC)

Origins, History

I had originally input text on the origin of cotton cultivation in Mexico 7000 years ago based on what now appears to me to be erroneous information from the reference I cited. I can guess how they made the error...other sources variously state 5000 BC or 5000 BP. More authoritative articles refer to approx. 5000 BP, evidence of cloth and cotton bolls from the Coxatlan Cave in the Tehuacan Valley. I expect this is a changing story, however, as archeology seems to keep pushing "new world" archeological dates back. Tmangray (talk) 22:06, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

As we would expect, the dates for cotton bolls and for cotton cloth are different, with evidence for the plant coming before the textile. The earliest reference I can find for the plant in the US is from a paper by MacNeish and Smith.

Antiquity of American Polyploid Cotton, Smith CE Jr, Macneish RS.,

Science. 1964 Feb 14;143(3607):675-676. Which you can find (abstract only unless you’re a subscriber I’m afraid) here:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=Search&Term=%22Macneish%20RS%22%5BAuthor%5D&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVAbstract

Evidence for a textile comes much later.

Reassessing Coxcatlan Cave and the early history of domesticated plants in Mesoamerica.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 102(27):9438-9445.

By Bruce D. Smith, Archaeobiology Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.

http://www.pnas.org/content/102/27/9438.full.pdf

Table 1. of the paper lists 71 archaeobiological specimens recovered from Coxcatlan Cave that have been radiocarbon dated. The oldest specimen is a piece of charcoal dating to 7650 B.C. and the oldest identified plant specimen is a seed of Cucurbita pepo (a pumpkin) dated to 5960 B.C. The only specimen that might possibly be cotton is listed as “cloth” with a radiocarbon date of 70 A.D. It is of course possible that specimens of Gossypium were recovered that have not been radiocarbon dated and are therefore not in the table.

I am still looking for the earliest evidence of processed cotton (yarn, thread or textile) both in the world and in the US. Cottonshirt (talk) 15:57, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

• I have continued looking and have found a reference to what I believe is the oldest use of cotton thread in the world. On the website for Musee Guimet in Paris, France, I found an article on the village of Mehrgarh, in Pakistan, which is the oldest agricultural village yet discovered in South Asia. In a grave dating from 7,000 BC archaeologists found some copper beads and a fragment of cotton thread which had presumbly been used for stringing the beads together. The date of 7,000 BC predates crude pottery with un-processed clay.

• I have also come across but not yet verified a claim that a Paleolithic site in Pakistan had clay figurines with patterns on them formed by pressing woven cloth onto the wet clay. These would date from an astonishing 25,000 BC. Verifying that the cloth was cotton is probably not going to be possible. Cottonshirtτ 07:26, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

--125.19.35.226 (talk) 10:30, 31 May 2011 (UTC)

• To discribe part of wasten india in artical the word present part of pakistan is writen and in other santance it said people of ancient india ,pakistan china,when ancient pakisthan exist then why use present part of pakistan word or if there was no ancient pakistna then why use the word ancient pakistan.fact is this there was no ancient pakistna that part is wastern india. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.19.35.226 (talk) 04:33, 27 May 2011 (UTC)

Need reference to size/quantity of a cotton bale

Wikipedia lacks an article discussing cotton bales. I would like to see one created or a section added to this article, but I am not at all involved in the cotton industry. Could someone experienced please add this? DMahalko (talk) 09:02, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Uncertain it this is what you require: Cotton modules normally measure 8'W x 8'H x 32 feet long and the Case IH modules are half the length. Cgoodwin (talk) 04:43, 25 August 2008 (UTC)

schools

cotton is used widely in schools and many textile teachers will make their pupils do some homework on it so i think all students should use this website. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.31.210.167 (talk) 17:08, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

Yield

How much cotton per plant, how many plants per acre and how much wt of cotton per acre ? 71.114.178.147 (talk) —Preceding undated comment was added at 17:50, 11 November 2008 (UTC).

Economic nonsense

The article includes the following sentence: "In the United States, Southern cotton provided capital for the continuing development of the North." While true, in context this is clearly meant to imply that the North was somehow dependent on Southern capital for its own development, and that simply isn't the case. I can see where some Southern "nationalists" might want to believe it, but it isn't true. The sentence should be deleted, because it adds nothing to the next, more accurate sentence: "The cotton produced by enslaved African Americans not only helped the South but also enriched Northern merchants." Theonemacduff (talk) 19:36, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

Cotton Incorporated

Cotton Incorporated

I am Pat Tucker and I work for RF|Binder Partners [2], a communications firm based in New York. I am here to contribute information on behalf of several of our clients, am fully aware of Wikipedia's policies and guidelines and will strictly adhere to these standards. All the information I put up will be credibly referenced and readily verifiable. Currently I am working with Cotton Incorporated [3] on cotton-related entries.

All of my proposed edits will come from the Ph.D. experts at Cotton Incorporated [4], a research organization. We’ll restrict our proposed edits to the talk pages, and we will refrain from editing any main-page directly as per your standards. We will only volunteer information through the talk pages and subsequently ask Wikipedians for their assistance.

If you want to contact me, please leave a message for me on my talk page or email me at Patrick.Tucker@rfbinder.com

I would like to begin by suggesting that Cotton Incorporated [5] be listed under the Markets and Trade Association Section and generally looked to for comprehensive information regarding the cotton industry. Cotton Incorporated is primarily the research arm of the cotton industry and its scientific team consists of some of the world’s best-known agricultural, biotech, textile and manufacturing researchers.

I look forward to working with you.

--PTucker7 (talk) 00:01, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

Cotton and Water

Resolved

 – I've better sourced the assertions in the article and tweaked to reflect the fact that it was cotton cultivation rather than cotton itself. Hiding T 12:58, 31 March 2009 (UTC)

I am Pat Tucker and I work for RF|Binder Partners, [1] a communications firm based out of New York. I am here to contribute information regarding several of our clients. I am fully aware of Wikipedia’s policies and guidelines and will strictly adhere to these standards. All the information I put up will be credibly referenced and readily verifiable. Currently I am working with Cotton Incorporated[2] on any cotton related entries.

All of my edits will be restricted to talk pages, and I will refrain from editing any main-page directly. I will only volunteer information on talk pages and subsequently ask Wikipedians for their assistance.

If you want to contact me, please leave a message for me on my talk page or email me at Patrick.Tucker@rfbinder.com

The below edits and citations come from Dr. Ed Barnes, Director of Ag Research at Cotton Inc. He received his PhD from Oklahoma State University in Biosystems Engineering; and BS and MS from N.C. State University in Biological and Agricultural Engineering.

Excerpt from Cotton main page:
Cotton is a thirsty crop, and as water resources get tighter around the world, economies that rely on it face difficulties and conflict, as well as potential environmental problems. For example, cotton has led to desertification in areas of Uzbekistan, where it is a major export. In the days of the Soviet Union, the Aral Sea was tapped for agricultural irrigation, largely of cotton, and now salination is widespread.

Suggested Edits
1. “Cotton is a thirsty crop…” is like saying “humans are a thirsty species”. The facts are:
a. Cotton’s peak water use is not that different than other major commodities
i. Food and Agricultural Organization's (FAO) Irrigation and Drainage Paper #56
ii. Consumption use of water by major crops in the Southwestern United States - USDA, ARS Conservation Research Report 29. May 1982
b. Cotton is drought tolerant and in many environments can lessen agriculture’s impact on water resources relative to other crops:
i. Gowda, P.H., R.L. Baumhardt, A.Esparza, T.H. Marek, and T.A. Howell. 2007. Suitability of cotton as an alternative crop in the Ogallala aquifer region. Agronomy Journal 99:1397-1403.
c. Cotton’s global water footprint is only 3%
i. Hoekstra, A. Y. and A. K. Chapagain. 2007. Water footprints of nations: Water use by people as a function of their consumption pattern. Water Resource Management 21:35–48.

2. Cotton has lead to desertification and salization
a. Given the points made above, it was not “cotton” that led to the desertification in areas of Uzbekistan or depletion of the Aral Sea – it was flawed government policies that did not do an appropriate job of managing water resources.
b. Related – cotton is also a salt tolerant crop and does not “lead to salination” – actually it is grown in saline conditions because it is the last significant crop that can tolerant the poor soil and water quality.
i. Hanson, B., S.R. Grattan, and A. Fulton. 1999. Agricultural salinity and drainage. Oakland: University of California Division of Agricultural and Natural Resources Publication 3375.;
ii. Ayers, R.S., and D.W. Westcot. 1985. Water quality for agriculture. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 29.

--PTucker7 (talk) 13:20, 9 March 2009 (UTC)

• I've better referenced the section, and amended it slightly to show it was cotton cultivation that caused the problems. I think the paragraph makes it quite clear it was the decisions made by the Soviet Union which caused the problem. Most sources refer to cotton as a thirsty crop, so I left that alone. Hiding T 12:58, 31 March 2009 (UTC)

Molecular and cellular makeup of cotton fibers?

This page lacks info on the cotton fibers themselves. Are they pure cellulose? How are they crosslinked? Why do they shrink in the wash? Etc. 85.197.212.231 (talk) 08:09, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

Alternatives

Could a alternatives to cotton-section be included? These include hemp fiber, ... A alternatives section is useful as hemp, ... require far less water and pesticides. Cotton is very environmentally-unfriendly trough this high requirements of energy and water. Also, the crop is often just grown in areas with little water (arid plains as the south of the US, ...) and using a alternative textile crop is thus better used in these locations. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.182.163.77 (talk) 11:45, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Laborers Expose Overdone

Recently added image with writing on the picture area of the 1908 MS photo detracts from any historical encyclopedic value. Too many of those poses only heighten the exploitation issue, the article is about cotton not faces of forced labor. King Cotton on the other hand is quite tastefully done with only one image, but could expand on the slavery/labor problem. I picked cotton with my grandfather in Mississippi as a teenager and my back gave out before I even got 20 pounds while dragging a 50 pound capacity bag. - Athrash | ^Talk 18:45, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

Enzyme effect on cotton towels?

Can someone add information on this problem and the solution to it, to the Wikipedia article?

I've found that when using concentrated color-preserving biological liquid detergent to wash new cotton towels for the first time, whether Egyptian cotton or American Pima cotton, all the cotton fibres are changed from being soft and fluffy pre-wash to very hard, rough and stiff after washing at 40 degrees Celsius and leaving to dry in warm air. Is this normal? What is causing the towels to change so badly? Is it the enzymes in biological liquid, the temperature of the water, or something else? Would using a concentrated non-biological liquid detergent produce a better result? Should liquid detergents be avoided completely, whether biological or non-biological? Would it make any difference if they were washed at 30 degrees Celsius or cold washed? W738 (talk) 09:18, 12 December 2009 (UTC)

7000 or 8000 years ago?

Conflicting information. First cultivated in India or Mexico? See line one of first para and the mention of 7000 in India/China and 8000 in Mexico for "first cultivation". Also, how authoritative is the encyclopedia mentioned for Mexico? 72.66.121.107 (talk) 13:06, 4 January 2010 (UTC)

INTRODUCTION

      My name is GLENN T. DAYO,I'm live in Lizares Ext.Bacolod CIty.
My Best Experrience in High School when i soposesebly report in my English subject i can't go in the front of my classmate becouse i'm so very SHY...I feel nervouse when my teacher is call my name...^^
    By the way this is my project...This is about of COTTON...COTTON is the most popular product in the whole world..It is so very defficult to create this product,Becuase a lot of step to follow..thats all i want to say...
    ONE's AGAIN I'm GLENN T. DAYO....^^  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 112.200.233.96 (talk) 14:38, 25 February 2010 (UTC) 

Edit request from Cottonya, 4 August 2010

{{editsemiprotected}} COTTON YARN MARKET IN INDIA www.cottonyarnmarket.net Cottonya (talk) 14:57, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

Not done: What change are you requesting? If you mean you want the link you give added to the article, then you should see WP:ELNO. JamesBWatson (talk) 15:27, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

INFO ON PIMA COTTON AND EGYPTIAN COTTON MAY BE WRONG

"AMERICAN" PIMA COTTON IS NOT ALWAYS INFERIOR TO EGYPTIAN COTTON AS STATED IN THE ARTICLE. A FULL SEPARATE WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE IS NEEDED ON EACH OF THE TWO COTTONS. PLEASE READ MORE BELOW:

FROM: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_better_pima_cotton_or_egyptian_cotton

What is better pima cotton or egyptian cotton? In: Home and Garden [Edit categories]

[Improve] Answer From: http://www.supima.com/whats-supima/faq http://www.fibers.com/blog/what-is-pima-cotton-history-information http://www.ars.usda.gov/aboutus/50th/histories-photos/wcrl.htm

Egyptian cotton Considered by some as one of the better cottons in the world. Grown mainly in the Nile River Valley in Egypt, this grade of cotton boasts of long and strong fibers. Used in high-priced towels and linens. "Egyptian cotton" is used to describe the place where cotton is grown, but not always the specific variety of cotton. Varieties of Pima cotton are sometimes grown in Egypt. As well, there are varieties of Egyptian Long Staple (LS) and Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton that are sometimes grown in Egypt. There is both a distinction and a difference.

Pima cotton

"The name "Pima" is the generic term generally applied to Extra Long Staple cotton grown in the U.S., Peru, Israel and Australia." - from the FAQ page http://www.supima.com/whats-supima/faq One of, if not the best, grades of cotton in the world. Pima cotton, by definition, is always Extra Long Staple (ELS). It features long, luxurious fibers used in high-end towels, sheets and more. Learn more at www.babyalpima.com

Supima® Grown and trademarked only by members of the Supima Association of America. Made of 100% American Pima cotton. Strong and soft. Superior in softness to all other cottons due to the physically longer strands of fiber that make up the cotton threads. Learn more at http://www.supimacotton.org http://www.supima.com/whats-supima/advantages

Sateen A type of fabric weave that creates a soft, smooth, lustrous surface. This finish is usually added to fabrics like cotton in products like shirts, sheets, draperies and upholstery. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.99.153.52 (talk) 23:24, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

Edit request from Tori171, 25 October 2010

{{edit semi-protected}}

Please add Organic Cotton Tee shirts, caring on the planet and your pockets, www.STOC.com.au' to the 'external links'. The STOC page has info on organic cotton and cotton production and the brand uploads really useful information about cotton and sustainability through their social networking sites.

Much appreciated!!

Tori171 (talk) 01:44, 25 October 2010 (UTC)

Seems like an advertising site to me. AIRcorn (talk) 09:45, 25 October 2010 (UTC)

Not done: As above. Links for advertising are not permitted. Please see WP:ELNO. Thanks, Stickee (talk) 12:36, 25 October 2010 (UTC)

Edit request from 117.200.214.152, 6 November 2010

{{edit semi-protected}} COTTON YARN MARKET IN INDIA

117.200.214.152 (talk) 13:13, 6 November 2010 (UTC)

Not done: Wikipedia is not for advertising. --Stickee (talk) 14:57, 6 November 2010 (UTC)

ITC external link on trade data

Hello everyone, I am working for the International Trade Centre (ITC). I would like to propose the addition of an external link that could lead directly to the specific product trade data held by ITC. I would like you to consider this link under the WP:ELYES #3 prescriptions. Moreover, the reliability and the pertinence of this link can be supported by the following facts 1) ITC is part of the United Nations 2) No registration is required 3) Trade data (imports/exports) are regularly updated 4) The link gives direct access to the trade database referring to the specific product 5) The addition of a link to reliable data could provide an appropriate contribution to the piece of the article related to international trade flows. Thank you for your attention.Divoc (talk) 17:40, 5 May 2011 (UTC)

Seed dispersal

This introduction to the article has one sentence, "The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal", yet this is not mentioned again anywhere in the article. In fact, there is almost no information about the plant itself. What does it look like? How big does it get? How many bolls are typical per stem/plant/etc? howcheng {chat} 23:31, 20 June 2011 (UTC)

You want the article Gossypium and the related articles for each of the four species. This is basically the cotton fiber article. Rmhermen (talk) 19:42, 11 August 2011 (UTC)

Ancient World.

wiki ask for relible source for eny kind of informationn in this site.But it seem some people are making fraud of history in this site.There is only four Ancient civiliztion Egypt,Assria,India,and china,after that is Greek.Somebody is pushing his personal agenda here.I have edited the Ancient pakistan from cotton history part.plz give a reliable source how and when maorden day pakistan become Ancient pakistin who was part of india just sixty years back.give a origenal source or not try to force it here.--Nkatyan (talk) 13:40, 22 June 2011 (UTC)