Morphology of G.

Arboretum:

This is most widespread of all the species of Old World cottons, being distributed throughout
the rain-fed savannah areas from Africa, through Arabia and India, to China, Japan and E.
Indies. Its origin is obscure, but it is obviously Asian, since the area of its greatest variability
is found around the Bay of Bengal.

This species comprises a large number of varieties and races including many of the cultivated
cottons in and around India. The staple is coarse and very short, only 3/8 to 3/4 inch in
length, but it is strong.

G. Herbaceum:

This is also an Old World species. It occurs in Africa, Middle East countries. Central Asia
and Western India. It has been grown in India from time immemorial. Commercially the
cottons belonging to this species constitute a fairly large percentage of medium staple cotton
grown in India. The major part of the cotton crop in Maharashtra state comprises this species.
This species comprises a large number of cultivated races.

It is utilized for low-quality fabrics, carpets, and blankets and is especially suitable for
blending with wool.

Cultivation of Cotton:

Cotton is essentially a tropical crop, but its cultivation is carried on successfully over many
parts of the world, far removed from the tropics. The limits of cultivation may be said to be
the 40th latitude on both sides of the Equator.

It is grown either at sea level or at moderate elevations not exceeding 3,000 feet. Cultivation
is confined largely to flat open country and rough hilly tracts, where the minimum
temperature does not fall below 70°F.

Higher temperatures are very favourable, and the upper limit may go up even to 105°F in the
picking season. The crop thrives well in moderate rainfall. Rainfall exceeding 35 inches is
supposed to be harmful to the crop. The lower limit for a purely rain-fed crop is 20 inches.

On black cotton soils, hardly any rainfall is needed over most of the growing period provided
good showers have been received before the crop was sown and a satisfactory start has been
made.

Cotton is grown both as a dry crop and as an irrigated crop. If the rainfall is distributed over
both the monsoons, the extraordinary fertility of the black cotton soil allows a wide variety of
crops to be grown, and also taking of two crops in the year—one in the north-east monsoon
period, and the other in the southwest monsoon period.

On the other hand, if the rainfall is low and is confined to the north-east monsoon period, the
only one crop is grown in the year. There is considerable mixed cropping practice with
cotton. Pulses such as arhar, black-gram and green-gram and other crops such as groundnut
and the castor, into the mixture. The ‘New World’ cottons are, however, grown pure—
whether as dry crops or as irrigated crops.

5. Extraction

The bulk of cotton produced in India is sold as Kapas or unginned cotton. Kapas is
transported to the local markets or ginneries mainly in carts or, sometimes, on pack animals.
The cultivator sells his cotton in the village market.

The purchasers are village merchants, or agents of ginneries, spinning mills or exporting
firms. In some states, co-operative societies organized by cultivators have taken up the
purchase and sale of the cotton.
Ginning:

Kapas or seed cotton collected from the field contains both lint and seed. For use in industry,
cotton should be cleaned and the lint separated from the seed. A small amount of seed cotton
is ginned in villages by the use of charkha gin. The bulk of it, however, is ginned in factories
by power-driven machinery. The yield and quality of lint depend on the type of cotton and
the machinery used for ginning.

Baling:

Cotton is packed for trade purposes both in loose and compressed bales. Loose packing is
adopted for inland transit of ginned cotton to a pressing factory, while compressed packing is
adopted for transporting ginned cotton to the market and for storing in the godowns. Each
loose bale contains 200 to 300 lb. of cotton. The usual weight of compressed bale is 392 lb.
net with density of 40 lb. per cubic foot.

6. Uses of Cotton:

The bulk of cotton production is consumed in the manufacture of woven goods, alone or in
combination with other fibres. The principal types of woven fabrics are—print cloth, yam
fabrics, sheetings, fine cotton goods, napped fabrics, duck, tyre fabrics and towels. Products
in the form of yam and cord include unwoven tyre cord, thread, cordage and twine and
crochet yams.

Unspun cotton finds use in mattresses, pads and upholsteries. Cotton constitutes one of the
basic raw materials for cellulose industries including plastics, rayon and explosives.
Sterilized absorbent cotton finds use in medical and surgical practice.

Yarns of varying size and fineness are needed in the production of fabrics. Coarse yarns are
spun from short staple cottons and fine one from medium and long staple types. Long and
uniform staples are utilized for yarns of high counts required for fine fabrics.
Cotton waste is a by-product of the spinning and weaving mills and consists principally of
short fibres rejected by combing and carding machines, floor sweepings, odds and ends from
weaving and various scraps.

The amount of waste given by cotton is an important factor in its quality evaluation. Cotton
waste of good grade is employed in making cotton blankets, sheets, towels and flannelettes.
Cylindrical strips from carding machine, which are constituted of fibres of good strength, are
used for warps, twines, ropes and nets; they are also useful for wadding, padding for
upholstery, bed quilts; etc.

Strips from Egyptian cottons are mixed with wool for making mixed woollen goods. Floor
sweeping and fibres unfit for spinning are bleached and used for gun-cotton, cellulose and
artificial silk. Short remnants and thread waste that cannot be respun are used as wiping and
polishing material.

The stalks of plant contain a fibre that can be used in paper making or for fuel, and the roots
possess a crude drug. The seeds are of the greatest importance and every portion is utilized.

The hulls are used for stock feed; as fertilizer; for lining oil wells; as a source of xylose, a
sugar that can be converted into alcohol and for many other purposes. The kernels yield one
of the most important fatty oils, cottonseed oil and an oil cake and meal which are used for
fertilizer, stock feed, flour, and as a dyestuff.
Jute:
Cultivation of Jute:

In India, the crop is sown between March and May, and harvested between July and
September, It is grown mainly in West Bengal, Assam and Bihar, which together account for
90 per cent of the total area sown. Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and Tripura are the other states,
which contribute the remaining 10 per cent area.

Jute is a bast fibre obtained from the secondary phloem. The bast fibre is obtained from C.
capsularis, a species with round pods which is grown in lowland areas subject to inundation.
Fibre from C. olitorius, an upland species with long pods, is but little inferior.

In India, the time for harvesting the crop depends entirely upon the date of sowing; the season
commences with the earliest crops about the end of June, and extends to the beginning of
October. The crop is harvested within three or four months after planting, while the flowers
are still in bloom.

Separation of Fibre by Retting:

The fibre is separated from the stems by a process of retting in pools of stagnant water. The
crop is stacked in bundles for two or three days, to give time for the decay of the leaves,
which are said to discolour the fibre in the retting process. The period of retting depends upon
the nature of the water, the kind of fibre, and condition of the atmosphere. It varies from two
to twenty-five days.

The operator has therefore to visit the tank daily, and ascertain, by means of his nail, if the
fibre has begun to separate from the stem. This period must not be exceeded; otherwise the
fibre becomes rotten and almost useless for commercial purposes.

The bundles are made to sink in the water by placing on the top of them sods and mud. When
the proper stage has been reached, the retting is rapidly completed. The cultivator, standing
up to the waist in the foetid water proceeds to remove small portion of the bark from the ends
next the roots.

Grasping them together, he strips off the whole with a little management from end to end
without breaking either stem or fibre. Thereafter the washing is done to remove the
impurities. It is now wrung out so as to remove as much water as possible, and then hung up
on lines prepared on the spot, to dry in the sun.

The very long pale-yellow fibres from six to ten feet in length, are quite stiff, as they are
considerably lignified; they possess a silky lustre. They are very abundant, but are not
particularly strong, and they tend to deteriorate rapidly when exposed to moisture, to which
they are quite susceptible. Besides these disadvantages the jute is cheap and easily spun
makes it valuable.

Uses of Jute:

Jute is used chiefly for rough weaving. The thick cloth made from jute fibre is used for
making gunny-bags. Another type of fine cloth prepared from jute fibre is chiefly used as a
cloth to sleep on. Another type of coarse cloth is largely used for making the sails of country
boats, and also for bags to hold large seeds or fruits.

Jute is extensively used in the manufacture of carpets, curtains, shirting’s, and is also mixed
with silk or used for imitating silk fabrics. The fibre is also used for making twine and ropes.
Short fibres and pieces from the lower ends of the stalks constitute jute butts, which are used
to some extent in paper making.

India not only grows most of the jute, but it is the largest manufacturer and exporter of jute
products.

Morphology of jute – ask me

From book- ask me