The most important among fibrous materials - cotton - has been known to man for a long time. This plant was depicted on the state symbols of Uganda, Pakistan and a number of former Soviet republics. Persia is considered to be the ancestor of cotton culture, but in India, cotton was ubiquitous as far back as 15-10 centuries BC and was processed into fiber.

The first mention of cotton dates back to the 15th century BC in the form of records on clay tablets. Such a discovery was made thanks to the excavations of ancient cities and villages in India. In Pakistan, in Mohenjo-Daro, cotton fabrics woven as early as the third millennium BC were found.

The abundance of natural dyes, the inhabitants of India, made it possible to dye fabrics in all colors of the rainbow. Cotton was an export item. For example, the Greeks bought gangetikon fabrics from Indian merchants (the name comes from the Ganges River), and the Romans - calico (from the city of Calicut).

In the covers of Egyptian mummies, cotton begins to appear no earlier than 5 centuries BC. In that era, cotton was cultivated in Upper Egypt, where it came from Persia.

Cotton appeared among the Greeks and Romans around the 5th century BC. He came here from Babylon through Asia Minor and was valued above wool. Herodotus has hints that cotton fabrics were produced in the Caucasus.

Cotton and linen seem to have long been the only fibrous materials known in Asia and Europe. At least in Pliny, who lived in the 1st century BC, there are no indications of other fibers.

Cotton was cultivated independently by the peoples of the Old and New Worlds. When America was discovered, cotton was found in Mexico. Columbus and his companions saw that the inhabitants of the continent they discovered had cotton aprons and scarves that protected their heads from the sun. Excavations in Peru have shown that among the Incas, cotton was used for weaving in large quantities, alone or with wool.

In those days, cotton was very expensive and rare. Historians and philosophers have written about him. Herodotus believed that cotton fabrics are obtained from a tree on which wool grows.

The spread of cotton around the world was very slow. The Chinese were the first to learn about cotton as far back as 2.5 thousand years BC, and used it as an ornamental plant. Perhaps they had no idea about cotton weaving and therefore wore locally made clothes from silk fabrics, or maybe this was their preference. But in the XIII century, when the Mongol-Tatars seized the lands of China, cotton weaving began to develop. Cotton, fabric dyes, and cotton fabrics were exported.

The spread of cotton in Europe played the crusades of European feudal lords in the Middle East (Palestine, Syria, North Africa) in the XI-XII centuries. Venice and Genoa became the center of trade between Europe and the East.

Cotton yarn first penetrated into Russia. She was brought from Bukhara to the eastern provinces, and from England to St. Petersburg and Moscow. At the beginning of the 19th century, paper spinning appeared in Russia. In terms of cotton consumption before the First World War, Russia was in fifth place in the world.

The first tool for cleaning cotton from seeds in India was the so-called "chock", consisting of two rollers, the upper one being fixed and the lower one rotating with a handle. The seeded cotton is fed between the rollers, the roller grabs the fiber and pulls it to the other side, and the seeds that cannot pass between the rollers break off and fall in front. With this operation, two or three shift workers could clean no more than 6-8 kg of pure cotton per day. Therefore, large-scale and cheap cotton production was out of the question.

In 1792, a sawing machine, or Eli Whitney's sawing cotton gin, was invented, which significantly accelerated and reduced the cost of this work (with the same 2-3 workers, as with the "chock", first hundreds, and then one and a half thousand and more than a kg per day with one machine, depending on the number of saws, that is, on the size of the machine and on the engine that brings the machine to work, in which the hands of workers, the power of animals, water, etc., could act as a driving force). From that time, cotton growing began to develop rapidly and everywhere, like no other industry in the world. The invention had a significant impact on the world economy, reducing the cost of cotton production many times over.

Cotton fabrics in Russia were the first to be produced by Ivan Tames in the 172s. Russified Dutchman had a linen establishment in Moscow. By the end of the 18th century, cotton production had spread to the Tver, Ivanovo, Vladimir and Moscow regions. A competing era of linen with cotton began, in which cotton fabrics took the lead.

The cotton boom swept the whole world. By the end of the 16th century, it was already grown in all more or less warm countries. The leaders in production were the USA, China, India, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan (South Kazakhstan region, mainly in the deltas of the Syr Darya and Arys rivers.), Brazil, Pakistan and Turkey.

Since 1998-1999, China's textile industry has been the main consumer of cotton (about 35% of world consumption). Cotton needs are not met by China's own resources, forcing it to import raw materials.

The largest exporter of cotton in the period 2001-2005 is the United States (slightly less than 40% of all exports), in second place are the African countries of the "franc zone" (9-13%).

And other products. But not everyone understands what cotton looks like, what cotton is made of, how it is grown, where cotton grows, how it is harvested, how cotton is used and what is made from cotton. Let's try to answer all these questions.

Today, cotton is the most important plant fiber used in the textile industry around the world (50-60% of the total).

Cotton is the fibers that cover cotton seeds. Cotton fibers consist of 95% cellulose and 5% fats and minerals. The world knows more than 50 varieties of cotton, but only 4 of them are grown and cultivated:

• Gossypium hirsutum - an annual herbaceous cotton plant, the northernmost, gives a short and coarse fiber;
• Gossypium arboreum - Indochinese tree-like cotton plant, the highest up to 4-6 m;
• Gossypium barbadense - elite long-staple cotton from the islands, Barbados or Peruvian;
• Gossypium herbaceum is the most common cotton plant.

Cotton is not picky, but requires long periods of warm temperature without frost. That is why it is successfully grown in the tropical and subtropical zones of the northern and southern hemispheres.

For many years now, the main suppliers of cotton have been the USA, China, India, Pakistan, Brazil, although it is grown in 80 countries.

How is cotton grown anyway?

Before the plant gives soft fiber, it goes through several stages:

1. The formation of a bud from which a flower will eventually grow.
2. The flower and its pollination. After pollination, the flower turns from yellow to purple-pink, which falls off after a few days, leaving the fruit (seed box) in its place. The flower self-pollinates, which does not tie the cotton production process to the presence of pollinating insects.
3. The growth of the seed box and the formation of cotton fibers from it. Fibers begin to grow only after pollination. The box expands, bursts, releasing cotton fibers.

Cotton grows in a special way and has an indefinite stage of maturation. This means that at the same time there is a bud, a flower, a pollinated flower, and a seed box on the same plant. Therefore, cotton picking requires constant monitoring:

• the number of seed boxes is tracked;
• after opening the bolls by 80%, the cotton is processed to accelerate maturation;
• Harvesting starts after the boxes are 95% open.

In the process of growth, cotton is treated with a defoliant, which accelerates the fall of leaves, which makes it easier to pick cotton.

Initially, cotton was collected and processed by hand, which made products from it quite expensive, since one person can collect up to 80 kg of cotton per day, and separate it from seeds 6-8 kg. With the industrialization and mechanization of processes, cotton has become the main natural fiber, allowing the production of inexpensive, but high-quality products.

It should be noted that in some countries (Africa, Uzbekistan) cotton is still picked by hand. But in modern production, raw cotton is harvested with special cotton pickers. There are several types of them, but they all have one principle of operation:

• cotton bushes are captured by special spindles;
• in special compartments, raw cotton and the stem are separated, the stem calmly comes out;
• open bolls are captured and sent to the cotton bin, while closed and half-opened bolls are sent to the heap bin.

Next, raw cotton goes to cleaning, where the fibers are separated from seeds, dry leaves and branches.

Types of cotton

Cleaned cotton is generally classified according to fiber length, stretch and degree of soiling.

According to the degree of stretching and pollution, cotton fibers are divided into 7 groups, where 0 is selected cotton. Along the fiber length:

• short-fiber (up to 27 mm);
• medium fiber (30-35 mm);
• long-fiber (35-50 mm).

What is good about cotton?

Everyone knows that 100% cotton textiles (e.g. cotton towels, bed linen, bathrobes) create special comfort. How to explain it? Why is cotton so good?

Cotton has the following properties:

• good hygroscopicity and breathability;
• good tensile strength;
• resistant to high temperatures (up to 150 C);
• resistant to organic solvents (alcohol, acetic acid, formic acid);
• softness;
• good coloring;
• relative cheapness.

What is made from cotton?

Cotton seeds are used for:

• planting new cotton;
• oil production;
• livestock feed production.

Down (lint) and down (delint) use:

• as a basis for the production of synthetic thread;
• paper (cotton is 95% cellulose);
• plastics;
• explosives.

Cotton fibers are used to produce:

• elite, thin fabrics - only long-staple cotton is used for them;
• cheaper fabrics, such as coarse calico, chintz, etc. - use medium-staple cotton;
• knitwear - short-staple cotton can also be used in the manufacture (this sometimes explains its lower durability), synthetic components are added to them for strength;
• medical cotton;
• batting;
• cotton filler for pillows, blankets and mattresses - modern methods of careful processing of cotton fiber make it possible to obtain a material that perfectly holds its shape, does not cake and is environmentally friendly.

From ancient times to the present, cotton has been and remains one of the most important industrial crops. From this plant, a valuable fiber is obtained - cotton, which is then used for the production of fabrics, knitwear, threads and cotton wool. Since cotton is a fairly heat-loving crop, only the southernmost regions of Russia are suitable for its cultivation, and even then on a very limited scale.

Cotton is a botanical genus that is part of the Malvaceae family and has at least fifty species, among which there are both woody and herbaceous plants, both annuals and perennials.

Cultivated species used for cotton production are annual or biennial herbaceous plants that reach a height of 1-2 m, but have a very branched stem. Cultivated cotton plants have a tap root system, and the root is quite long - from 30 cm to three meters.

On cotton bushes, the leaves are attached with long petioles and are arranged alternately. The shape of the leaves is lobed (3-5 lobes), which is why they can resemble maple leaves.

Each plant has many single flowers. Most species and varieties have yellow flowers. The number of petals is three to five.

After the flowering period has passed, a very peculiar fruit is formed - a round or oval box in which the seeds ripen. When the seeds are ready, the boll cracks and opens, exposing the white fibrous mass in which the cotton seeds are located. The pulp is cotton, which consists of two types of hairs: long and fluffy, as well as short and fleecy.

Types and varieties of cotton

For a long time, botanists could not make an accurate classification of plants of the genus Cotton, for several reasons. Firstly, there are indeed many species of cotton - more than 50. Secondly, most of these species are subject to high variability under the influence of various conditions and circumstances, such as weather and soil composition. Thirdly, cotton plants are easily cross-pollinated between plants of different species, resulting in the formation of more and more new hybrids.

The founder of modern biological systematics, Carl Linnaeus, believed that there were from 3 to 6 types of cotton. Many other botanists also believed that there were few types of cultivated cotton - about a dozen. But there were also more radical views: one assured that there were only two types of cotton - American and Asian, while others, on the contrary, numbered about fifty species or even more.

Currently, only the following types of cotton are used in agriculture on the planet:

1. Cotton grassy. This annual species is most widespread in Central and Southeast Asia, as well as in the Transcaucasus. It is the shortest, but at the same time the most resistant species. Of all cotton varieties, this one is able to grow furthest in the north. The cotton obtained from it is the shortest and coarsest, which is why it is sometimes called woolly.
2. Indochinese cotton. The tallest type of cultivated cotton, capable of growing up to 6 m. Tree-like perennial. The cotton flower of this species has red rather than yellow petals, from which high-quality yellow cotton then ripens. Cultivated in tropical regions.
3. Peruvian cotton. View with the longest and highest quality fiber. It was originally a perennial, but through the efforts of American breeders about a century ago it became an annual. It has not received much distribution, it is grown in small volumes along the southeast coast of the United States, as well as in Egypt.
4. Cotton ordinary. The most common type. It is grown ubiquitously in regions with suitable climates. Annual with white flowers. Medium quality fiber.

Since ordinary cotton was predominantly grown on the territory of the former USSR, it is necessary to talk about varieties only in relation to this species. In the countries of Central Asia, the varieties Eloten-7, Dashoguz-114, Serdar, Regar-34, Tashkent-6, Bukhoro-6, Omad, Andijon-35 and others were most widely used in their time. But for the southern regions of the Russian Federation and Ukraine, the Bulgarian varieties Garant, Balkan and Ogosta are better suited, which have time to ripen in our latitudes. We should also mention purely Russian varieties of cotton: Yugteks, POSS, Pioneer, Mikhailovsky and others.

All four main types of cultivated cotton are thought to have been cultivated by humans independently in four different regions of the planet.

Probably the first to cultivate cotton were the inhabitants of the Indus Valley about 7,000 years ago. Gradually, cotton spread to the surrounding regions, today belonging to India and Pakistan. Interestingly, some of the cotton processing methods invented at that time were used until the modern industrialization of India.

For a long time, the cotton plant remained unknown either in China, or in the Middle East, and even more so in Europe. The first mention of it in Western chronicles dates back to the era of Alexander the Great, when Europeans first saw "wool growing on trees" in India.

At the turn of our era, cotton began to be grown in southern China. Around the same time, the Persians were trying to master this culture. When exactly the cotton plantations in Iran became really large is not known, but in the Middle Ages, cotton was already one of the most important articles of the Persian economy.

In parallel with India, cotton cultivation began on the territory of modern Mexico. The oldest finds of cotton fabrics found here date back to the beginning of the 6th millennium BC. e. Another, completely independent center of cotton cultivation was in Peru.

At the end of the Middle Ages, cotton was already an important import in northern Europe, but where this miracle fiber comes from, the Europeans understood very vaguely, knowing only that fiber of plant origin. Many seriously believed that such trees grow in the East, on which, instead of flowers, small lambs appear, from which cotton is obtained, so similar to sheep's wool. These misconceptions have even left their mark on modern European languages. For example, literally translated from German, “cotton” means “wood wool”.

At the end of the 16th century, cotton was already grown everywhere in those regions of Asia and America where there were suitable climatic conditions. Subsequently, it was cotton that became the locomotive of the industrial revolution in England, which changed the attitude of the state to the economy, and people to doing business. Raw materials were imported from tropical colonies, processed in England, and then delivered to the British colonies, China and the countries of continental Europe. Cotton was one of the causes of the American Civil War, but that's another story.

Historically, cotton has never been grown on the territory of Russia, since the climate was not suitable for cotton, but it was simply ideal for flax. By and large, cotton and flax quite successfully replaced each other, so in our country, before the arrival of the Bolsheviks, no one seriously thought about growing cotton. For the first time, we started seriously growing cotton in the 1930s in the North Caucasus. However, after the war, it was decided that it would be more rational to concentrate Soviet cotton growing in the Central Asian republics. The idea of ​​growing cotton in the territory of the Russian Federation was returned only a few years ago.

Cotton is a rather specific crop. To grow it successfully, it requires a long warm period without frost, with plenty of sun and moderate rainfall. In other words, tropical and subtropical climatic zones are best suited for cotton.

On the territory of our country, cotton can be grown more or less successfully only in the North Caucasus, and even then only using varieties specially bred for this climatic zone.

When growing cotton, it is recommended to alternate it in crop rotation with alfalfa. The fact is that cotton bushes greatly increase the salinity of the soil, while alfalfa, on the contrary, reduces it. You can also alternate it with cereals and other crops.

Soil preparation for sowing

The field for cotton has been prepared since autumn. Autumn plowing to a depth of 30 cm is carried out in late summer - early autumn. If before that alfalfa grew on the field, then before plowing it is necessary to carry out a preliminary peeling of the soil by 5-6 cm, thereby preventing the growth of the perennial.

In irrigated agriculture (and cotton is one of those crops that need irrigation), autumn plowing is recommended to be carried out with two-tier plows. If necessary, procedures are also carried out for combing out the rhizomes of weeds and applying herbicides.

In spring, the field is harrowed in 2 tracks. If manure is introduced during this period, it is recommended to repeat plowing. Before sowing cotton, the field is usually watered, after which it is required to carry out chiselling to a shallow depth (up to 15 cm) with repeated harrowing. A field that has not been watered in winter needs to be cultivated.

Fertilization

A good cotton harvest can only be expected if a large amount of fertilizer is applied. According to calculations, to get a ton of raw cotton, you need to spend on average about 50 kg of nitrogen, 15 kg of phosphorus and 45 kg of potassium. However, fertilizers must be applied strictly taking into account soil and climatic conditions.

On depleted soil or after cereals, about 20 tons of manure or compost per hectare should be applied before plowing. It is also desirable to fertilize the field with phosphate and potash fertilizers.

Practice shows that the yield of cotton increases dramatically if a small amount of superphosphate is applied during sowing. It is desirable to carry out further fertilizing with nitrogen at the moment when the plants throw out the first true leaves, as well as at the stages of budding and flowering. In addition, during the period of budding, cotton should be fed with potassium, and during the period of flowering and fruit formation - with phosphorus.

When cultivating this crop, not only vegetative, but also pre-sowing irrigations are used. Moreover, the second type of irrigation is done not only to moisten the arable layer, but also to remove excess salts from it.

In fields that are prone to salinization, pre-sowing irrigation is carried out in late autumn - early winter, when there are no severe frosts yet, but the groundwater has already receded to the maximum depth. The irrigation rate on slightly saline soil is 3 thousand cubic meters per hectare before plowing, on highly saline soils - 3-4 thousand cubic meters per hectare after plowing with one or two repetitions.

Vegetative irrigation is necessary in order to obtain the maximum fiber quality and to increase the efficiency of all other agrotechnical measures. All terms and rates of watering are calculated so that the plants do not lack water throughout the entire growing season. The need of plants for water increases especially strongly during the periods of flowering and fruit formation.

Seed preparation and sowing

Seed material before sowing is heated in the open air for 3-4 weeks, and then sequentially soaked in water and a solution of boric acid. After that, the seeds are disinfected with a suspension of copper trichlorophenolate.

Since cotton has a rather long growing season, sowing should be done as early as possible so that the bolls have time to ripen before frost. But at the same time, crops should not be allowed to suffer from spring frosts. This is what creates difficulties for growing cotton in Russia. It is recommended to start sowing when the soil reaches a temperature of 12 ° C.

For cotton, a square-nested planting method is used with a step of 60 or 45 cm. About 80-120 thousand plants should fall on one hectare. However, many farmers note the economic feasibility of wide-row crops, where the distance between plants is 90 cm. The average seed consumption per hectare is about 40-70 kg, depending on the sowing scheme and seed size.

During the growing season of cotton, it is necessary to carry out measures to destroy the surface crust on the ground, remove weeds and water the crops. In addition, when 1-2 true leaves appear on the shoots of cotton, thinning of the nests should be carried out. However, if modern precision seed drills are used, the need for manually breaking through the plants is completely eliminated.

After the emergence of shoots, it is necessary to carry out cultivation in row-spacing to a depth of 10 cm. Further, during the initial growing season, several more cultivations are carried out until the cotton closes its rows.

Weeds are controlled either with herbicides or by mulching. The second, by the way, can significantly reduce labor costs for caring for cotton fields.

An effective way to increase yields is the timely chasing of plants, that is, cutting off the tops on the growth branches and the main stem. This procedure allows you to increase the yield by an average of 10 centners per hectare.

Due to the fact that cotton bolls ripen extremely unevenly (within 1-2 or even 3 months), for a long time this crop was harvested exclusively by hand in several steps. Today, special cotton harvesters are used for these purposes.

Defoliation is also practiced in cotton growing - the removal of leaves shortly before harvest. This is done due to the fact that the leaves are a breeding ground for all kinds of fungi, bacteria and insects that can harm the crop.

Cotton has always been considered the preferred choice among fabrics due to its comfort, breathability, pleasant touch...

A fluffy fiber that grows in the seed pod of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is spun into yarn or thread to then produce a soft and breathable fabric, most in demand for clothing, bed linen, in modern times. Cotton grows in warm regions (subtropics and tropics; China, Australia, United States of America, Pakistan). Cotton is grown, in total, on about 2.5 percent of all cultivated land.

A common term associated with cotton,"Extra Long Staple" (ELS). Established industry standard for extraordinary long staple cotton, top quality cotton, for minimum fiber length 1.38 inches or 3.51 centimeters . The ELS minimum is significantly longer than the traditional cotton varieties known as mountain cottons (Gossypium hirsutum), which average 2.6- 2.7 centimeters.

Long staple cotton - Pima cotton (Gossypium barbadense), a tropical resident very sensitive to cold temperatures. The name was given to the variety of cotton in honor of the Pima Indians who worked in USDA experimental factories in Arizona in the 1900s. The origin of cotton dates back to the ancient times of cultivation of the plant in Peru, as early as 1000 BC, Peruvian cotton seed pods did not differ from modern cultivars of the plant. The first clear example of cultivation attempt is found on the Peruvian coast, in Ancona (near Lima), cotton seed pods discovered date back to 4200 BC.

Pima cotton makes up less than five percent of all American cotton production. It is grown in California, in very small areas in New Mexico, Arizona, West Texas. In 1954, the non-profit organization "Supima" was founded in America, whose directors include pima cotton producers. Supima Cotton, a brand that guarantees products made from the finest, long-staple cotton. Ninety percent of Supima's cotton is exported from the US, for fabrics, clothing, bedding, and towels abroad. The products are then re-exported to the US for sale. The top cotton importers are China, Pakistan, India, Japan and Indonesia. Supima licenses over 300 selected high quality cotton plants, fabric, clothing and retailers.

Pima cotton is used to produce a wide variety of goods. Towels, bed linen, clothes, especially shirts for women and men. Sweaters woven with cotton are very popular, they are light, warm and durable. Men adore pima cotton socks, in addition to being soft and durable, they do not rub for a long time. Unsurprisingly, products made with pima cotton are quite expensive.

Until relatively recently, when a consumer saw "sea island cotton" on the label, he knew that his choice was very expensive, not even fully understanding what the words "sea island cotton" meant. But despite the fact that any manufacturer can call their cotton products "sea island cotton", in modern days there are no things that are made from genuine "sea island cotton".

Until the 20th century, cotton was considered the most desirable cotton, for the production of which the fibers of Marine Island Cotton (a variety of Gossypium Barbadense) were the main product. Cotton cultivation began in the British North American colonies of the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia around 1786 by cotton planters from Barbados. Barbados was the first British West Indian colony to export cotton.

It was a very expensive cotton, thanks to its silky structure and very long fibers, as the main product (from 3.5 to 6 centimeters ) and labor-intensive production. Often cotton was mixed with silk. Cotton was grown, among others, in the uplands of Georgia, although the quality was worse, but was later replaced by another Indian variety of highland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), Mexican cotton, which triumphed in commercial production. Today, Mexican cotton accounts for 95 percent of all American cotton production.

The production of fine and very high quality Marine Island Cotton, unfortunately, completely stopped after the plant was infested with weevils in 1920. Although sporadic attempts were made to restore the industry during the 1940s, none of the original seeds could be salvaged. In addition, climate change has contributed to the destruction of the characteristics that were inherent in marine island cotton.

Egyptian cotton … It is as well known as the Great Sphinx or the Pyramids of Giza.

Pima cotton bears some resemblance to many varieties of Egyptian cotton, but is slightly shorter than Egyptian cotton, although it results in a thread that can be woven many times into a cloth. In other words, Egyptian cotton, a variety of pima cotton (Gossypium barbadense), has much longer fibers, 3.81- 5.08 centimeters . The finished product is luxurious bedding, amazing towels that absorb water from the body instantly. Clothing made from Egyptian cotton indulges in luxury and increased comfort. The guidelines are consumer guidelines worldwide and according to them Egyptian cotton is considered to be the best in the world. The long fibers are spun into excellent threads or yarns that are smaller in diameter than any other cotton fibers, more yarn is used per square centimeter in the manufacture of the fabric, indicating that the finished fabric is light and strong.

Introduced to Egypt from North America during the nineteenth century, Egyptian cotton has gradually developed and is today the favorite material for clothing makers around the world.

Egyptian cotton is rightly regarded as the King of Cotton, and Egypt will no doubt retain its crown in the future due to its excellent natural opportunities for cotton cultivation.

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Agriculture

Everything is possible. Cotton production is a reality in the South of Russia

Russian scientists and industrialists have always been famous for their ability to quickly solve the most incredible problems and break stereotypes. Now they have proved that Russia does not need to import cotton from Central Asia. And so, in 2018, Russia will receive its first commercially grown cotton. This new ultra-early cotton variety, bred by scientists of the Volgograd State Agrarian University, will fully satisfy the country's needs with domestic raw materials. It remains only to apply the technology for growing 250 thousand tons of cotton consumed in the Russian Federation, and we will fully cover our need for domestic raw materials.

Cotton was grown in Russia even before the Revolution, but in Soviet times this practice was stopped, deciding that it was more profitable to cultivate it in the Central Asian republics. After the collapse of the USSR, the country found itself without its own cotton and was forced to buy it abroad, mainly in the former republics - Uzbekistan (45%), Turkmenistan (7%), Kazakhstan (5%), Tajikistan (4%), and China ( fifteen%). However, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, these republics are now actively building cotton processing plants, and in 3 years they will simply stop supplying us with raw materials. They prefer to export finished products to us, earning more money from them.

The Russian authorities took care of the problem of creating their own raw material base for cotton back in the early 2000s. Attempts were made to grow it in the Astrakhan region, the Krasnodar Territory and other places, but things did not go beyond experiments. But on January 31, 2018, at the All-Russian Agronomic Conference, the Ministry of Agriculture announced that already in 2018 Russia would begin industrial cultivation and receive its first cotton crop in the Volgograd and Astrakhan regions. According to the ministry, up to 220,000 hectares can be sown with cotton in Russia.

Why did it take us so long to buy cotton in other countries, and what has changed with the new ultra-early variety? The cultural and political magazine "E-Vesti" addressed this question to a scientist from the Volgograd State Agrarian University, a leading expert on cotton in Russia, the head of the Department of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Igor Yuryevich Podkovyrov:

EV: Igor Yurievich, please tell us how long it took you to breed a new variety? What he really is?

Igor Yu. Podkovyrov: We bred and patented this new cotton variety about two years ago. It differs in that it has a very short growing season - about 110 days. This is the period during which cotton in the southern regions of our country manages to grow and give a good harvest.

The work was started by us in 2006. At first, it was carried out jointly with Tashkent scientists on the territory of Uzbekistan. Since 2013, it has continued in Russia, where we have tested and verified a large amount of breeding material. From 27 samples, we selected the three most promising ones, and through painstaking crossbreeding, we bred a new medium-fiber variety PGSSH-1 with the required properties. It has exactly the same quality fiber that Russia buys abroad in very large volumes. So we proved that cotton can be grown in the Volgograd region, where the climate is quite suitable for the maturation of the fiber.

For about three years we conducted production tests and the first test batches were sent to the Kamyshinsky textile mill. Cotton is here passed processing, it was made into yarn and fabrics. That is, it has shown its technical, industrial suitability as an industrial variety, because in our country there are several varieties of cotton in the state register that have no industrial value.

EV: Is it inferior in yield to the varieties of our Asian neighbors?

Igor Yu. Podkovyrov: In terms of yield, it is at the same level as cotton varieties cultivated in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. We can get the same harvest using the original technology developed for Russian conditions. The technologies that are used in Asian countries do not quite suit us, they need to be adapted. Appropriate cultivation technology is key, and it is because of its lack that previous industrial attempts have failed.

The new technology was created for an ultra-early variety. It requires a special regime of irrigation, mineral nutrition, special tillage, special machines.

EV: Tell me, please, in order to meet the needs of Russia in cotton, how much of it needs to be grown?

Igor Yu. Podkovyrov: Today, in order to fully meet the needs of Russia, we need about 250 thousand tons of cotton fiber. To obtain such a volume, of course, large areas are needed. It can be easily calculated - now 1 hectare on average yields 2-3 tons of raw cotton, of which about 36% will be pure fiber, taking into account waste, seeds, and rubbish. Need to sow a huge number of hectares(278 thousand hectares, E-Vesti calculation).

At present, there are reserves for these areas, there are a lot of fallow lands in the Volgograd region, in the Astrakhan region, in the Republic of Kalmykia, in the Stavropol Territory - these are the most promising regions. There is also the possibility of irrigation, because cotton grows on very poor soils, where it is unprofitable to grow other crops. For example, soils with low salinity - cotton is resistant to salinity.

EV: Are there similar foreign varieties for growing cotton in similar conditions? Or are you pioneers in this sense?

Igor Yu. Podkovyrov: In the field of ultra-early varieties, many countries are working, and, first of all, the United States. But they have no need to push cotton so far north. We have practically advanced the culture to the 50th parallel, although it has always been grown no higher than the 40th. And the Volgograd cotton variety is now the most "northern". There are no such developments abroad.

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