INTEGRATED TERM PROJECT
Group Shweta Bouddh and Swati Bouddh
TOPIC THE PHARAOH -GIZA COTTON
INTRODUCTION
Egyptian cotton is well known all over the world, when we mention to the Egyptian cotton we mean
comfort and feel. Egyptian cotton has a very soft, almost silky, texture. Because it is quite long
fibers. Egyptian cotton has been renowned for centuries for its preciousness. The particular climactic
conditions and the fertility of the earth alongside the river Nile, especially at its delta allow the
cultivation of the best cotton in the world, thanks to the unique ingredients offered by nature.
What is Giza COtton?
Giza cotton is the most highly graded cotton fibre of the Egyptian cottons. It is the longest, thinnest,
strongest and most has the best uniformity index of 88.5 of the Giza grade cottons. Meaning the
irregularities are minimal, therefore producing a very smooth and silky look and feel when woven
into fabric.
HISTORY
Giza cotton is The Queen of all types of Egyptian cotton. It was first cultivated in 1820 by
Mohammed Ali Pascia , the founder of modern Egypt and the symbol of the countrys revival after
the invasion of Naploeon. Ali Paschia imported Brazilian and West Indian Sea Island Cotton
seeds.The combination of the best seeds in the world, together with the exceptional environment
created the ideal cultivation conditions for the most precious cotton in the world.The Giza 45 plants
are cultivated in a very small area to the East of the Nile delta, and they represent only 0.4% of the
total annual Egyptian cotton production
What makes Giza best from others?
Giza 45 is undeniably the best cotton in the world. It has to do with a number of factors that
ultimately combine to produce the finest cotton products.
Extra long staple fiber
Fineness(2.95micronaire)
Uniformity
Strength
Cleanliness
Hand Harvesting
All These outstanding properties are combined to create a very fine and smooth hand feel,
and also allow a naturally high thread count without the use of plied yarns.
Due to all these properties Giza cotton is rulling over all other varieties of cotton and thats
why it called QUEEN OF COTTON.
PROPERTY
Giza 45 is undeniably the best cotton in the world. It has to do with a number of factors that
ultimately combine to produce the finest cotton products.
Giza 45 falls into extra-long category with a superior fibre. In addition to this and equally
important, is the fineness (2.95 micronaire) and unmatched uniformity. These 3 properties
alone are outstanding when combined to create a very fine and smooth hand feel, and also allow a
naturally high thread count without the use of plied yarns.
Strength - Adding to the superior properties is a very high breaking resistance, measured at
an average of 44.3 g/tex. This means despite its fineness the yarn is likely to produce one of
the strongest fabrics when woven.
Cleanliness Due to the special attention the Giza 45 is cultivated with it is generally a
much cleaner cotton when harvested from the plants. Natural cleanliness has two benefits.
The first is that there will be less brushing of the fibres, therefore keeping the natural
structure of the fibres intact, creating less ends. The second benefiting factor is that less
chemicals (similar to bleach) will be used to make the cotton white. These bleaching
chemicals tends to break down the strength of the cotton, therefore leaving cotton weakened
and damaged.
Hand Harvesting The Giza 45 is such a unique grade of cotton that it is exclusively
harvested by hand, for the best chance at preserving the cotton. Its obvious why, as you can
imagine the damage the blades of the machinery would do to cotton as its being picked. This
laborious and time consuming process adds to the cost of the raw cotton, but ensures the
highest quality product.
Maturity The maturity of the cotton is carefully selected while being hand harvested. It is
another reason the Egyptians prefer to harvest by hand, so they can visually analyse the
maturity of the cotton before picking it. A more mature cotton produces the longer staple
fibres with the greatest strength.
Hand Combing The elimination of irregular and inferior particles is all done by hand. Piece
by piece the cotton is sifted through in what is known to the Egyptians as the farfara
method. After the sifting and excluding the irregularities, it takes careful and skilful
techniques to really make the most of the extra-long staple fibres. Specialty spinners are
employed to create the worlds best yarn.
The Perfect Growing Conditions
Giza cotton is grown in Egypt, the home of the real Egyptian cotton. The specific area is on
the Nile Delta is the most fertile area of Egypt where rain, sun, humidity and soil combine to
produce a climatic perfection. These perfect conditions result in Giza cotton, the best cotton
in the world.
The region in which the Giza cotton is grown is ideal proximity to the Nile, which acts as a
natural irrigation system to the cotton plantation. It is nestled in a triangle in a fork in the Nile
itself and is a contrastingly lush area of Egypt (this can be seen in the satellite image, taken
from orbit above Egypt). This ensures the harvest will never be short of hydration, and keeps
the soils moisture content at a consistent level. As well as this the average rainfall is 190mm
in the six months from October to April, this is a supply of clean fresh water that hydrates the
crops from above in a few short bursts of torrential rain.
Additionally, the humidity is constant at approximately 60%-70% throughout the growing
season. The geographical position, which is close by the sea means the average temperature
doesnt vary much from one day to the other due to the sea winds cooling down the dessert
air.
Why Is Giza 45 so expensive?
Because the Giza 45 is grown in such a small region, only a certain yield can be produced
each year. Meaning the cotton is rare. Giza 45 has a high demand and sometimes all orders
cannot be fulfilled. And when the demand exceeds the supply the price is pushed up.
As well as being rare, the extra manual processes and methods quickly add to the cost of the
raw Giza 45 cotton. On average, the raw cotton is 5 times the cost of regular Egyptian cotton.
And that's before it is even woven!
TYPES OF GIZA COTTON
Ashmouni
Ashmouni cotton ia except that arisen out of the medley unnamed type growing in lower Egypt .First
appeared in 1860. Ashmouni had displaced all other cotton from Egypt because of its regualarity of
its staple,uniform creamy brown colour of its lint and its higher field . All these contributed to make
Ashmouni far superior.
Zagora
Zagora selection closely resembled with Ashmoun i cotton ,but more suitable for the delta where it
was grown.It has longer and more uniform staple than Ashmouni ,but does not replace it .
ASHMOUNI ZAGORA
GIZA 2
(from 1933, all Ashmouni and zagora crops are
grown from Giza 2 and Giza19)
Ashmouni/Zagora
Giza 2
Giza 2 was obtained descendants of a single plant selection made in 1920 from the original
Ashmouni stock. Commerically no distinction was from b/w Ashmouni and Giza 2.
Giza 19
Improved strain from a single plant selection of Ashmouni stock appeared in 1932. It was
substituted from Giza 2 in nucleus stock.
Giza 7
Giza 7 originated in 1921 as a single-plant selection from a field of Ashmouni cotton, and, purely on
account of its general characteristics, it is usually considered to be the result of a chance cross
between Ashmouni and Sakel. It is lighter in shade than either of these two cottons and
intermediate between them in fibre quality. Giza 7 gives a much higher yield than Sakel, and has the
further advantage of being immune from wilt disease.
Giza 3
Giza 3 originated from a single-plant selection made from a field of Ashmoimi cotton about 1921,
and like Giza 7 is generally considered to be the result of a natural cross between Ashmouni and
Sakel. Giza 3 first appeared in appreciable quantity in 1930/31, Only the higher grades of Giza 3
found a ready market, being but slightly dearer than Uppers, yet cheaper than Pilion. No large
amounts were produced and the variety was abandoned from 1939/40 onwards.
Giza 12(Wafeer )
Wafeer (Giza 12) Wafeer was obtained as the result of artificial hybridisation of Sakel and Ashmouni,
the work being carried out by the Plant Breeding Section of the Ministry of Agriculture. Small
amounts appeared for the first time about 1932 and production on a commercial scale increased
from 1937 to its peak figure in 1939/40. Thereafter the cultivation of Wafeer decreased and the
variety appears to have been grown for the last time in the 1943/44 season
Giza 26(Malaki)
Malaki was obtained by crossing Sakel with Sakha 10, the latter being derived from an off-type St.
Kitts Sea Island strain. The yield of Malaki is better than that of Sakel, but lower than that of Sakha
4, Maarad or Giza 7. Unfortunately, Malaki is not immime from wilt attack although slightly more
resistant than the very susceptible Sakel. This prevents the successful cultivation of Malaki on wilt-
infested land, whilst the comparatively late maturing habit of the plant restricts growth to districts in
the Delta.
Giza 29(Karnak)
Kamak is another highly successful production of the Ministry of Agriculture, and first appeared
commercially in the 1939/40 season. It is a hybrid resulting from a cross between Maarad and Sakha
3. Karnak is the highest yielding cotton in the superquality Egyptian range. The only cottons now
grown which have a better yield than Karnak are Menoufi and Ashmouni/Zagora. Kamak has a large
boll and a minimum of leaf on the plant, properties conducive to the picking of high-grade cotton.
Under field conditions Kamak shows a satisfactory resistance to wilt attack.
Giza 36(Menoufl)
Menoufl (Giza 36) Menoufi is another hybrid produced from a cross between Wafeer (Giza 12) and
Sakha 3, Menoufi is grown in the Delta where it has an extremely high yield, in many places equal to
that of Zagora. It made its first appearance on a small commercial scale in the 1942/43 season.
Production is expanding and shortly the cotton will be competing for a market with Giza 7. It can be
produced cheaper than Giza 7, and it was only due to artificial control measures that the initial price
of Menoufi was fixed at a higher level than Giza 7. a longer staple and higher yam strength
compared with that grown in the Delta.
Giza 39(Amon)
Amon (Giza 39) Amon, or Amoun, is a cross between Malaki and the Sakel derivative Sakha 4. It first
appeared on the market in 1943, and is the best quality cotton ever grown in Egypt. Compared with
most other Egyptian cottons Amon is fairly white, much lighter than Malaki, Reports from Egypt
indicate that Amon has a higher yield than Malaki and can also be produced cheaper than ordinary
West Indian Sea Island.
Giza 40
Giza 40 is a cross between Sakha 4 and Giza 25, the latter being an experimental strain from a
hybrid produced from Ashmouni x Casulli. Giza 40 is the whitest cotton grown in Egypt, having
inherited this tharacter from its Casulli ancestor. It first, appeared on a small scale in 1943 when
several bales were 9ent over to England in order to gauge the reactions of spinners.
Giza 30
Giza 30 Another recent hybrid produced by the Ministrj^ of Agriculture is Giza 30, a cross bet\veen
Giza 7 and Sakha 11. Sakha 11, like Sakha 10 is an offlype Sea Island strain derived from St. Kitts
Sea Island. Giza 30 is a fairly light to whitish coloured cotton of medium quality lint, and jaeld trials
have given figures higher than those of any other commercial cotton grown in the Delta. A small
crop of about 40 bales was grown in the 1942/43 season and a larger amount in the next season.
Giza 23
Giza 23 is a recent Ashmoimi x Sakel hybrid. It is longer and slightly finer than the earlier Wafeer
type and generally has a somewhat lower yield. It is, however, very suitable for growth in the poor
salty soil in the north part of the Delta. A small trial crop of 20 bales was first raised in the 1942/43
seasons, and larger quantities in the next two seasons.
Giza 31
Giza 31, selected from the short-lived Giza 3 variety, is a high-yielding cotton suitable for growth in
the extreme south of Upper Egypt. Giza 31 resists the extreme heat very successfully and claims
from Egypt maintain that, given a sufficient demand, it would be possible to extend the southern
limit of cotton growing in Egypt.
Giza 43
Giza 43 This cotton is a recent hybrid, a cross between Giza 31 and Giza 12. It was first produced on
a small scale for commercial trial in tJie 1946 season, and may be found suitable by spinners
needing a good medium class Egyptian cotton.
Giza 44
Giza 44 is a cross between Giza 30 and Sakha 3, and hasitiot yet been grown on a commercial
scale. It is said to be of Menoufi length and Kamak fineness giving yarns as strong as Malaki. If the
experimental trials now in progress are successful a small crop will be raised in order to gauge the
opinions of spinners.
Giza 45
Giza 45 is another strain still in the experimental stage. It is a cross between Giza 7 and Giza 28, the
latter strain being derived from a cross between Sakha 3 and Sakha 4. It is reported to be no longer
than Amon, but finer, and to give higher yam strengths. In Egypt it is %aid that there is the
possibility of Giza 45 eventually displacing the new Amon cotton, which is now only just starting its
commercial life.
Fibre Characteristics of Past
Egyptian Cottons
BARBADENSE
Giza 86 -was the predominated variety as amounted about 113500 Hectare (72%) of total
cotton planted areas with an increase of about 25900 Hectare compared to previous season. The
Egyptian Producers prefer to cultivate this variety due to its high quality & productivity and its
high ginning outturn, beside the high demand on it either locally & internationally.
Giza 88 -takes the second rank, as the planted area amounted about 28800 Hectare (18%) of
the total cotton area with an increase of about 14800 Hectare, compared to the previous season.
There are a high demand from international market on this variety for its high spinning utility, in
addition to its high productivity and ginning outturn, but there are a limited demand from the
local market.
Giza 90 - comes in the third rank as the planted area amounted about 10300 Hectare , (6.5 %)
of total planted area, with a decrease about 1700 Hectare., Compared to the previous season. It
is cultivated in Upper Egypt as it is Tolerance to temperature stress, short duration, high
productivity and ginning outturn.
Giza 80 - takes the fourth rank, it is cultivated in upper Egypt, the planted Area amounted about
4040 Hectare (2.6%) of cotton area with a decrease about 1960 Hectare to previous season, it is
tolerance to the temperature stress, high yield and ginning outrun.
Production and Productivity
Cotton crop has slightly increased in season 2010/2011 to amount about 134000 Metric Lint ton,
Compared to about 95000 metric Lint ton the previous season 2009/2010 and average yield
about 848 Kg/HA season 2010/2011 compared to 785 kg/HA season 2009/2010. - Giza 86 is the
first as its production amounted about 93785 Metric Lint ton (70%) of total production. - Giza 88
amounted about 28000 Metric lint ton (21%) of total production. - Giza 90 amounted about 7817
Metric lint ton (5%) of total production. - Giza 80 amounted about 3209 Metric lint ton (2%) of
total production. - The others (Giza 70, 92, new strains and mixed cotton) amounted about 2% of
total production.
