Geography · Ch 11 — Land Resources and Agriculture
Cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a tropical crop, and in India it is grown in the kharif season. The crop thrives in semi-arid areas — regions that receive moderate rainfall but have a long dry spell.
A major historical shift occurred at Partition: India lost a large proportion of its cotton-growing area to Pakistan. Despite this loss, the acreage under cotton has increased considerably over the last 50 years.
India grows two main types of cotton:
- Short staple (Indian) cotton — the traditional variety.
- Long staple (American) cotton — known locally as ‘narma’ in the north-western parts of the country.
The term ‘staple’ refers to the length of the cotton fibre. Long staple cotton is generally of higher quality and is preferred for finer textiles.
A critical climatic requirement: cotton needs clear sky during its flowering stage. Cloudy or rainy weather at this time can damage the crop and reduce yield.
The leading cotton-producing states are Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Telangana.
There is a sharp contrast in productivity depending on irrigation:
- In the north-western region (where irrigation is available), per hectare output of cotton is high. …
The photograph shows a man standing waist-deep in a dense cotton field. He is holding an open cotton boll in his hand, inspecting it closely. The boll is fully burst, exposing the white, fluffy lint — the raw fibre that is harvested for textile production. The field around him is thick with cotton plants, their leaves and stems visible, and several other open bolls can be seen on the plants.
This image directly illustrates the key point from the textbook: cotton is a kharif crop grown in semi-arid areas. The man’s inspection of the boll highlights the critical stage of flowering and boll development — the textbook notes that cotton requires clear sky during flowering, and the photograph shows a healthy, open boll under what appears to be sunny conditions. The dense, well-grown field also suggests either irrigated cultivation (as in north-western India, where per-hectare output is high) or a good rainfed season.
The figure does not show any labels, arrows, or multiple panels — it is a single, straightforward photograph. Its purpose is to give students a concrete visual of what a cotton plant looks like at harvest time, reinforcing the idea that cotton is a field crop that grows to about waist height, with bolls that open to reveal the fibre. The man’s presence also subtly reminds us that cotton cultivation is labour-intensive, especially during picking. …