- Gossypium barbadense
-
South American Cotton 
Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Rosids Order: Malvales Family: Malvaceae Genus: Gossypium Species: G. barbadense Binomial name Gossypium barbadense Gossypium barbadense, also known as extra long staple (ELS) cotton[1] as it generally has a staple of at least 1 3/8" or longer,[2] is a species of cotton plant. Some types of ELS cotton are American Pima, Egyptian Giza, Indian Suvin, Chinese Xiniang, Sudanese Barakat, and Russian Tonkovoloknistyi.[2] It is a tropical, frost-sensitive 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. To grow, it requires full sun and high humidity and rainfall.
This plant contains the chemical gossypol, which reduces its susceptibility to insect and fungal damage. In Suriname’s traditional medicine, the leaves of G. barbadense are used to treat hypertension and delayed/irregular menstruation.[3]
Contents
History
The name Pima was applied in honor of the Pima Indians, who helped raise the cotton on USDA experimental farms in Arizona in the early 1900s.[4] The first clear sign of domestication of this cotton species comes the Early Valdivia phase site of Real Alto on the coast of Ecuador (4400 BC) and from Ancon, a site on the Peruvian coast, where cotton bolls dating to 4200 BC were found. By 1000 BC, Peruvian cotton bolls were indistinguishable from modern cultivars of G. barbadense. Cotton growing became widespread in South America and spread to the West Indies, where Christopher Columbus encountered it. Cotton became a commercial plantation crop tended by slaves in the West Indies, so that by the 1650s, Barbados had become the first British West Indies colony to export cotton.
Sea Island cotton
In about 1786, planting of Sea Island cotton began in the former British North American colonies, on the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia, when cotton planters were brought over from Barbados.[5] Among the earliest planters of Sea Island cotton in America was an Englishman, Francis Levett, who later fled his Georgia plantation at the outbreak of the American Revolution and went to the Bahamas, where he attempted to introduce cotton production, but failed. Sea Island cotton commanded the highest price of all the cottons, due to its long staple (1.5 to 2.5 inches, 35 to 60 mm) and its silky texture; it was used for the finest cotton counts and often mixed with silk. It was also grown on the uplands of Georgia, where the quality was inferior[5], and was soon surpassed in commercial production by another native American species, upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), which today represents about 95% of U.S production.
Egyptian cotton
The term Egyptian cotton is usually applied to the extra long staple cotton produced in Egypt and used by luxury and upmarket brands worldwide.
United States agricultural policy
American Pima accounts for less than 5% of U.S. cotton production. It is grown chiefly in California, with small acreages in West Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.[4]
For purposes of federal support, the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 101-171, Sec. 1001) defined ELS cotton.
ELS cotton, like upland cotton, is eligible for marketing assistance loans and loan deficiency payments (LDPs). The national loan rate for ELS cotton under the 2002 farm bill was $0.7977 per pound. ELS cotton, in contrast to upland cotton, does not qualify for direct payments or counter-cyclical payments.[4]
References
Notations
- Sauer, J.D. 1993. Historical geography of crop plants - a select roster. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.
Footnotes
- ^ "7 USC 7202 - Sec. 7202. Definitions". vLex. http://us-code.vlex.com/vid/sec-definitions-19268936. Retrieved November 20, 2011. "The term "extra long staple cotton" means cotton [...] that is produced from pure strain varieties of the Barbadense species or any hybrid thereof, or other similar types of extra long staple cotton."
- ^ a b Goggin, Brian (December 1991). "Extra-long staple cotton report - production and export statistics for marketing year 1989/90-1991/92 including USSR, Egypt, Israel, Peru and Sudan; U.S. pima cotton production and export statistics". U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service report. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3763/is_n12_v91/ai_11907722/. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
- ^ "Medicinal Plants of the Guianas (Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana)". Smithsonian - Department of Botany. p. 183. http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/Medicinal_plants_master.pdf. Retrieved November 20,2011.
- ^ a b c CRS Report for Congress: Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition -Order Code 97-905
- ^ a b Cotton Year Book 1910, Textile Mercury Annual, 1910, Manchester
External links
- Cotton Botany at Cotton Inc.
- Organization of American Pima Cotton Growers
- History of Sea Island Cotton, West Indian Sea Island Cotton Association (WISICA)
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