Research Project: Enhanced Cottonseed Profitability and Sustainability through Improved Genetics and Byproduct Formulation

Location: Commodity Utilization Research

Project Number: 6054-30600-001-000-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated

Start Date: Jul 2, 2025
End Date: Jul 1, 2030

Objective:
Objective 1: Explore breeding cotton for unique nutritional and industrial oil compositions. Objective 2: Develop chemical modification of cottonseed components for novel biobased products. Objective 3: Develop new uses of cottonseed biomass and bioactive products.

Approach:
Cotton (Gossypium spp.) is an essential global fiber crop. Approximately 25% of all fiber world-wide comes from cotton lint, and the United States produces about 1/3 of this supply. The cottonseed left after ginning represents an underdeveloped source of additional economic gain for the U.S. cotton industry, as many cottonseed coproducts have not been fully investigated as potential food or feed components, or as industrial feedstocks. Some prior knowledge exists in this general field, but the proposed research is needed to fill research gaps and evaluate commercial viability. This proposal will utilize basic and applied research approaches to develop new physical resources and foundational knowledge that can accelerate and inspire future innovation. Progress in this work will lead to the development of new products and expanded markets that will increase both sustainability of cotton crops and profitability for cotton farmers and oil processors. This can be accomplished by: • improving cotton genetics to enable production of value-added cottonseed oil that is more stable and heart-healthy than standard vegetable oils. • developing new processes to effectively recover previously discarded or underutilized mass fractions created during traditional cottonseed processing. • developing new and improved food and nonfood industrial products that effectively utilize cottonseed byproducts. The outcomes of this research will result in the following anticipated products: • cotton germplasm producing seed oil with enhanced levels of oleic acid and/or altered levels of cholesterol-modulating cyclopropyl fatty acids. • cottonseed oil-derived formulations of various industrial products such as textile finishes, gels, and foams with petroleum-competitive properties. • food and agriculture industry-compatible biodegradable bioplastics and biofilms produced from cottonseed meal, protein, or other biomass fractions. • identification of health-promoting bioactive compounds derived from cottonseed extracts.