Page 4 - 16 Cotton SA December 2018

The Truth

About Cotton

WATER pampering their immaculate greens and “cotton bud”
fairways. Here's something for cotton's refers to the
otton is a xerophyte - a plant that critics to consider, as they water their plastic stem,
Crequires very little water to grow. It lawns and prepare to tee off on a Sunday NOT the
is basically a desert crop, with a deep morning.… It takes more water to grow cotton swabs
root system that's ideal for arid climates. a hectare of grass than it does to grow themselves.
A cotton plant needs water at critical a hectare of cotton. Also, many
times during its growth to produce a manufactu-
good yield, but most of the time, LAND USAGE rers have replaced the plastic stems with
seasonal rainfall (sometimes assisted by paper ones to minimise their environ-
irrigation) is all that cotton needs. Talk about efficiency. Cotton occupies a mental impact.
mere 3% of the world's agricultural area
Those who say cotton is a thirsty crop yet it meets 36% of the world's textile When water molecules penetrate a fibre,
are promoting fake news as: needs. That's getting your fibre's worth! they often act like a lubricant, which
● 73% of cotton produced uses less Globally, cotton's land use has remained weakens the material. But water only
than 288 litres of irrigation water/kg relatively constant over the past 50 makes cotton stronger, unlike viscose
lint; and years, but the volume of fibre produced rayon (which loses strength) and
● 55% of cotton produced uses no has increased almost three-fold. In other synthetics (which are unaffected).
irrigation water whatsoever! words, cotton growers are producing Cotton is 99% cellulose, and hydrogen
more cotton without planting on more atoms in the water bond with those in
Despite its thirsty reputation, the reality land. the cellulose. That increases cotton's
is that cotton consumes only about 3% strength by about 20% - and, since
of the world's irrigation water and SYNTHETIC cotton can absorb more than 25X its
farmers across the globe are improving weight in water, it's the ideal material for
their productivity and water use The skyrocketing amount of plastic trash 'wet work'.
efficiency every day. is unquestionably a scary situation, and
the calls to ban plastics straws and Extracts from reports on the International Cotton
Advisory Committee’s (ICAC) website
It's summer time and home owners are “cotton buds” are worth considering. - Koot Louw, Cotton SA.
watering their lawns and golf courses are However, note that in this context,

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