Cotton

Geography glossary

Topic: Major Crops of India: Distribution and Conditions · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 4 "Agriculture"; Class 12, Ch 3 "Land Resources and Agriculture"

Meaning

Cotton is a kharif fibre crop (sown with the south-west monsoon) whose seed hairs, called lint, are spun into yarn. It grows best on the drier black soils of the Deccan, in high heat, with 210 frost-free days and clear skies when it flowers. It is often called "White Gold". It is the base of India's textile industry and supports about 6 million farmers, plus another 40–50 million people in processing and trade [2]. In 2024-25, India was 1st in the world in cotton area but 2nd in production, after China [2].

Explanation

Growing conditions (cause → result)

  • Season: kharif crop
  • It is sown with the south-west monsoon (June–July) and harvested in winter.

  • It takes 6–8 months to mature, which is long for a crop.

  • Soil: black cotton soil (regur)

  • Regur forms from weathered Deccan basalt lava.
  • It is rich in clay and holds moisture for a long time, so cotton survives dry spells.

  • Cotton prefers the drier parts of this soil.

  • Climate needs:

  • High temperature
  • Light rainfall or irrigation
  • 210 frost-free days. Frost kills the plant and damages the open bolls (the seed pods that hold the fibre).

  • Bright sunshine and clear skies at flowering. Cloud and rain at this stage spoil the boll and the fibre.

  • Water source:

  • About 62% of India's cotton is rainfed and 38% is irrigated [2].
  • Because so much depends on rain, Indian yields stay low.

Species and staple length (fibre quality)

  • India is believed to be the original home of the cotton plant.
  • India is the only country that grows all four cultivated cotton species [2]:
  • Gossypium arboreum and G. herbaceum: Asian (desi) cotton
  • G. barbadense: Egyptian cotton

  • G. hirsutum: American upland cotton. It gives nearly 90% of India's hybrid cotton, and all Bt cotton hybrids in India belong to this species [2].

  • Staple is the length of a single cotton fibre. A longer staple gives finer, stronger yarn.

Staple category Length (mm) [2]
Short staple 20 and below
Medium staple 20.5–24.5
Medium-long staple 25.0–27.0
Long staple 27.5–32.0
Extra-long staple (ELS) 32.5 and above
  • The north-west grows two kinds:
  • short-staple (Indian/desi) cotton
  • long-staple (American) cotton, called "narma"

Bt cotton: rise and plateau

  • Bt cotton is genetically modified (GM) cotton. It carries a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis.

  • The gene makes a protein that poisons bollworms, the caterpillars that bore into cotton bolls [2].

  • It was introduced commercially in 2002 after approval by the GEAC (Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee) [2]. It now covers over 90% of the cotton area.

  • Early result: fewer bollworm attacks, fewer insecticide sprays, and higher yields and farm incomes [2].
  • Plateau (from about the 2010s):
  • The pink bollworm became resistant to Bt toxins, so pest damage came back.
  • Yields stopped rising.

  • Farmers faced illegal HTBt (herbicide-tolerant Bt) seed, which survives weed-killer sprays and is not approved. Seed prices were also high.

  • Response: the High-Density Planting System (HDPS) puts more plants on each hectare.

  • In field trials, it raised yields by about 40% [2].
  • Its early harvest also cut pink bollworm losses [2].

Output, units and support

  • Production: 297.24 lakh bales (5.06 million tonnes) in 2024-25. This was nearly 20% of world output [2].

  • The provisional figure for 2025-26 is 290.91 lakh bales [2].

  • 1 bale = 170 kg of lint. This is the trade unit for cotton [2].

  • MSP (Minimum Support Price) is a floor price the government promises to farmers.
  • The CACP (Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices) recommends it for each cotton year (October–September) [2].
  • 2026-27 MSP: ₹8,267/quintal (medium staple) and ₹8,667/quintal (long staple) [2].

Where it occurs

  • India's share of cropped land: cotton covers about 4.7% of the total cropped area (NCERT, Class 12).
  • Three belts:
Belt (NCERT) States Water Yield Official zone today [2]
North-west Punjab, Haryana, north Rajasthan Canal irrigation High Northern Zone: Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan
West Gujarat, Maharashtra Rainfed Very low in Vidarbha Central Zone: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh
South Plateaus of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu Mixed Medium Southern Zone: Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka
  • These 9 states grow most of India's cotton. Odisha and Tamil Nadu also grow it [2].
  • Leading producers: Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana.
  • World position (2024-25):
  • 1st in area: 114.84 lakh ha, about 38% of the world's 304.08 lakh ha [2]

  • 2nd in production and consumption, after China [2]

  • Partition (1947): much of the irrigated cotton land of west Punjab and Sindh went to Pakistan. India's cotton area has grown steadily since then [2].

  • Schemes and agencies:
  • Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) is the nodal agency for MSP buying.
    • It bought 105.09 lakh bales in 2025-26 [2].
    • It ran 571 procurement centres in 152 districts of 11 states [2].
    • Farmers book selling slots on the Kapas Kisan app. Over 41 lakh farmers have registered [2].
  • Mission for Cotton Productivity started in 2025-26. It runs for five years with ₹5,659.22 crore [2].
    • It covers about 24 lakh ha in 140 districts of 14 states [2].
    • It focuses on ELS cotton and on varieties that resist pests and cope with climate stress.
    • Its target is 498 lakh bales by 2031, under the "5F" vision: farm → fibre → factory → fashion → foreign [2].
  • Kasturi Cotton Bharat is the national brand for Indian cotton. It is run by the Ministry of Textiles, CCI and TEXPROCIL, with ₹30 crore [2].
    • It certifies long-staple (28 mm or more) and ELS (35 mm or more) cotton.
    • It uses QR codes and blockchain to track each bale from farm to mill [2].
    • 3,29,550 bales had been certified by 30 June 2026 [2].

Don't confuse with

  • Jute: Jute is also a fibre crop, but it is a bast fibre taken from the stem bark. It needs hot, humid, flooded delta soils and is led by West Bengal. Cotton is a seed-hair fibre that needs drier black soils and is led by the Deccan states.
  • "Narma" vs desi cotton: Narma is long-staple American cotton grown in the north-west. It is not a desi variety. Desi cotton is short-staple G. arboreum/G. herbaceum.
  • Kasturi Cotton Bharat vs a cotton variety: Kasturi is a brand and traceability programme of the Ministry of Textiles, CCI and TEXPROCIL. It is not a seed or variety [2].
  • Bt cotton vs HTBt cotton: Bt resists bollworms and was approved by the GEAC in 2002 [2]. HTBt is herbicide-tolerant GM seed that is not approved and is sold illegally.

Prelims Hooks

  • 210 frost-free days + bright sunshine at flowering + 6–8 months to mature + drier regur soil → cotton (kharif).
  • Trap: India is 1st in cotton area (about 38% of the world) but 2nd in production, after China. "Largest cotton producer" is wrong for 2024-25 [2].
  • India is the only country growing all four cultivated cotton species. All Bt hybrids are G. hirsutum [2].
  • 1 cotton bale = 170 kg of lint [2]. Jute bales are a different unit.
  • Leading cotton states: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana. Northern Zone = Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan (irrigated, high yield) [2].
  • Bt gene source: Bacillus thuringiensis. It was introduced in 2002, and the pink bollworm has since become resistant.

Mains Points

  • Water decides the yield gap between belts (GS-I distribution, GS-III agriculture):
  • The canal-irrigated north-west gets high yields.
  • Rainfed Vidarbha and Marathwada get very low yields, because about 62% of cotton is rainfed [2]. This leads to debt and agrarian distress.

  • Policy responses include HDPS, ELS seed, MSP buying through CCI, and the Mission for Cotton Productivity target of 498 lakh bales by 2031 [2].

  • Bt cotton gave only a time-limited gain:

  • Yields jumped after 2002. Then pink bollworm resistance, illegal HTBt seed and high seed costs stopped the gains.

  • The way forward is refuge planting (non-Bt cotton planted alongside Bt so resistance spreads slowly), short-duration varieties, regulated GM approvals and integrated pest management.

  • From "white gold" to a global brand:

  • India has the world's largest cotton area but low yields.
  • Kasturi Cotton Bharat (traceability, QR codes, blockchain) and the "5F" vision aim to move India from selling raw fibre to selling branded, value-added textiles abroad [2].

Related concepts

Read more

Sources

  1. 1Class 10, Ch 4 "Agriculture"; Class 12, Ch 3 "Land Resources and Agriculture" (primary)
  2. 2"White Gold: India's Cotton Story — From Seed to Shirt" (PIB, 20 July 2026)static.pib.gov.in · tier 1