General description of cotton

Authors: Fang, David

Submitted to: Cotton Fiber: Physics, Chemistry and Biology
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/18/2018
Publication Date: 11/10/2018
Citation: Fang, D.D. 2018. General description of cotton. Cotton Fiber: Physics, Chemistry and Biology. pg. 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00871-0_1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00871-0_1

Interpretive Summary: Cotton has been cultivated by human beings for at least 3000 years. However, the dawn of modern cotton industry began in the 17th century in Americas due to the domestication of perennial wild tetraploid cotton to an annual day-neutral crop. There are four cultivated cotton species, two diploid species and two tetraploid species. Their origins and distributions are described. Cotton fibers are unicellular trichomes or plant hairs that differentiate from epidermal cells of developing cotton seeds. Cotton fiber development divides into four distinctive yet overlapping stages: initiation, elongation, secondary cell wall biosynthesis, and maturation. In this chapter, the general knowledge about the life cycle (from seed to seed) of a cotton plant, harvesting, ginning and cotton products are discussed. In addition, this chapter also provides a brief view of new technologies such as transgenes and fiber genomics. This chapter serves an introduction about cotton and the subsequent chapters of the book.

Technical Abstract: Cotton has been cultivated by human beings for at least 3000 years. However, the dawn of modern cotton industry began in the 17th century in Americas due to the domestication of perennial wild tetraploid cotton to an annual day-neutral crop. There are four cultivated cotton species, two diploid species and two tetraploid species. Their origins and distributions are described. Cotton fibers are unicellular trichomes or plant hairs that differentiate from epidermal cells of developing cotton seeds. Cotton fiber development divides into four distinctive yet overlapping stages: initiation, elongation, secondary cell wall biosynthesis, and maturation. In this chapter, the general knowledge about the life cycle (from seed to seed) of a cotton plant, harvesting, ginning and cotton products are discussed. In addition, this chapter also provides a brief view of new technologies such as transgenes and fiber genomics. This chapter serves an introduction about cotton and the subsequent chapters of the book.