Cotton is the most important fibre crop of India. It is the fourth largest producer of cotton in the world. It has the largest area under cultivation.
(a) The quality of cotton depends on the length of fibres, fineness, strength and colour. Long stapled cotton has fibres over 2.8 cms in length. The short stapled cotton has a length of 2.2 cms and is the variety which grows well in India. It is cultivated in the Kharif season in most of the regions in India except in those areas where it is grown on irrigated land.
(b) Cotton is sown in June and harvested in October. The plant needs protection from diseases like the boll worms, boll weevils and wilt.
(c) The raw cotton passes through a process of ginning in which the seeds are separated from the fibre.
(d)Major Cotton producing areas are: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Karnataka and Rajasthan.