Organic Cotton Crop Guide

Organic farming has experienced considerable growth, not only in industrialized countries. Is it primarily an approach to safeguard consumer health and the environment, or can it also contribute to poverty reduction in developing countries? Drawing on 3 years of research on organic cotton farms in the Maikaal bioRe® project in central India, this book assesses the potential and the constraints of organic farming for improving rural livelihoods. It further integrates lessons learnt in other organic cotton projects in Asia and Africa, making it the presently most in-depth and comprehensive work on the socio-economic impact of organic farming in a developing country. The research builds on a conceptual frame that allows investigating rural livelihoods in a holistic and interdisciplinary way. The book not only addresses scientists in the fields of rural development and tropical farming systems, but also provides recommendations for practitioners and policy makers. "Dr. Frank Eyhorn’s research on organic cotton grown in the central state of India is a pioneering work. It paves the way for the possibility of chemical-free, environment- and health-friendly sustainable farming, involving lower costs and yielding higher returns to the farmers. The model is capable of being replicated globally." (Sri Sompal, former Chairman of the National Commission for Farmers and Minister of State for Agriculture and Water Resources, India) "That the organic production of cotton provides benefits not only for the environment and human health, but also for the socio-economic situation of farmers, is the main message of this well-documented comparative study of conventional and organic farming. It is a significant and motivating message for furthering the use of organic production methods in developing countries." (Dr. Joan S. Davis, Environmental Chemist, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Sciences & Technology)

The guide is a reference book that provides a comprehensive view of all aspects of the cotton value chain from a market perspective, and an overview of the world cotton market. It outlines factors influencing supply and demand, and market trends; considers major issues of the sector, including trade policy and WTO issues; deals with textile processing of cotton, cotton quality and its determinants, and cotton contamination; covers various aspects of cotton trading and export marketing; looks at e-commerce, the ICE Futures U.S. and other futures markets for cotton; reviews the market for different types of cotton, including organic cotton; presents market profiles of the main importing countries in Asia (Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand) and Turkey, with recommendations on how to approach their cotton-consuming textile industries. Annexes contain a list of international cotton associations, as well as lists of useful addresses and web resources.

The Cotton Production Manual was written for growers everywhere who strive to improve cotton quality and productivity. Features a season-by season production calendar with pest and disease control, fertilization, and irrigation tips and a Diagnostic Guide to help you identify crop problems in the field with management options. 12 pages of color plates.

A single seed is more than just the promise of a plant. In rural south India, seeds represent diverging paths toward a sustainable livelihood. Development programs and global agribusiness promote genetically modified seeds and organic certification as a path toward more sustainable cotton production, but these solutions mask a complex web of economic, social, political, and ecological issues that may have consequences as dire as death. In Cultivating Knowledge anthropologist Andrew Flachs shows how rural farmers come to plant genetically modified or certified organic cotton, sometimes during moments of agrarian crisis. Interweaving ethnographic detail, discussions of ecological knowledge, and deep history, Flachs uncovers the unintended consequences of new technologies, which offer great benefits to some—but at others’ expense. Flachs shows that farmers do not make simple cost-benefit analyses when evaluating new technologies and options. Their evaluation of development is a complex and shifting calculation of social meaning, performance, economics, and personal aspiration. Only by understanding this complicated nexus can we begin to understand sustainable agriculture. By comparing the experiences of farmers engaged with these mutually exclusive visions for the future of agriculture, Cultivating Knowledge investigates the human responses to global agrarian change. It illuminates the local impact of global changes: the slow, persistent dangers of pesticides, inequalities in rural life, the aspirations of people who grow fibers sent around the world, the place of ecological knowledge in modern agriculture, and even the complex threat of suicide. It all begins with a seed.

Aphids are among the major global pest groups, causing serious economic damage to many food and commodity crops in most parts of the world. This revision and update of the well-received first edition published ten years ago reflects the expansion of research in genomics, endosymbionts and semiochemicals, as well as the shift from control of aphids with insecticides to a more integrated approach imposed by increasing resistance in the aphids and government restrictions on pesticides. The book remains a comprehensive and up-to-date reference work on the biology of aphids, the various methods of controlling them and the progress of integrated pest management as illustrated by ten case histories.

Sustainable Fibres for Fashion and Textile Manufacturing presents the latest technical information about innovative natural and synthetic materials, helping the reader to understand sustainable fibres and raw materials for fashion and textile manufacturing. With a particular focus on apparel manufacturing, different applications of sustainable fibres are explored along with manufacturing techniques and details of the material properties. New research investigating nontraditional sources of textile fibres such as lotus, orange, milk, seaweed, corn, and mushroom are all presented, providing a uniquely comprehensive resource. Drawing on work by contributors from a variety of fields and roles in industry and academia, this book shares solutions and new perspectives on this interdisciplinary topic more widely in the hope of leading to research breakthroughs. Shares a wealth of valuable data and results from research into sustainable cellulosic, lingo-cellulosic and protein fibres Includes full technical descriptions of newly explored sustainable fibres, including chemical structures and structural properties Presents a strong focus on improving sustainability of the industry through practical measures spanning disciplinary boundaries to address this complex issue