Four species of cotton are grown for commercial fiber (lint) production. Gossypium arboreum L. and Gossypium herbaceum L. are grown in Africa and Asia. These produce lint of inferior quality. Gossypium barbadense is grown commercially in limited parts of the world and produces a lint of excellent quality, long and strong, that is used in high-quality garments. It is difficult to produce and is grown in limited quantities. Gossypium hirsutum is grown on most of the world's cotton acreage, producing a good quality fiber that is shorter and has less fiber strength than G. barbadense. The United States, India, China, Brazil, and Australia are major producers.

Cotton is unique since the fiber is an extension of cells of the seed coat instead of being derived from other plant parts, as flax and the other fiber crops are. Each cotton fiber is actually a single cell and is nature's...