How is cotton made from a plant?
According to the National Cotton Council of America, cotton fabric begins its life as a small, tight mass of raw fiber that forms inside a hard pod called a boll. It will be harvested and processed to become the material we know as cotton. Cotton plants tolerate heat well and don’t require as much water as crops such as corn and soybeans. Therefore, it is a very popular crop in the American South and Southwest, an area known as the “cotton belt.”CultivationFarmers use large planters to plant as many as 12 rows of cotton seed at a time. The seeds sprout in 1 to 2 weeks and flower in about six weeks. After pollination, the flowers fade and the bolls begin to form. Between 50 and 70 days after pollination, the full bolls of cotton crack and split open. This exposes the cotton fibers to the air and allows them to dry.HarvestingWhen the cotton fibers are fully exposed and dry, it’s time for harvest. Cotton is typically harvested with either stripper harvesters or spindle pickers. Stripper h
