What is ELS cotton and reasons behind the lack of cultivation of this premium variety in India?

Why in the NEWS?

• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a five-year mission to improve cotton productivity and sustainability and promote ELS cotton varieties in the Union Budget.

What will you read next in this topic?

1. What is Extra-Long Staple (ELS) Cotton?
2. Global Production of ELS Cotton:
3. Advantages of ELS cotton:
4. Reasons for lack of cultivation of ELS cotton:
5. Challenges for ELS cotton cultivation in India:
6. Possibility of improvement from Cotton Mission:

What is Extra-Long Staple (ELS) Cotton?

• Cotton varieties are classified based on the length of their fibres. These include long staple, medium staple, and short staple cotton.
• Most of the cotton grown in India is from the Gossypium hirsutum species, which has a fiber length of 25-28.6 mm and falls in the medium staple category.
• On the other hand, extra-long staple (ELS) cotton has a fiber length of 30 mm or more.
• It comes from the Gossypium barbadense species, commonly known as Egyptian cotton or Pima cotton.

Global Production of ELS Cotton:

• ELS cotton is grown mainly in China, Egypt, Australia, and Peru.
• In India, ELS cotton is cultivated in a few places, such as some rain-fed areas in Sangli district of Maharashtra and around Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.

Advantages of ELS cotton:

• High quality: 
  • The quality of fabric made from ELS cotton is high. The fabric is light, strong and smooth.
• Popularity among brands:
  • Top textile brands use this variety as it offers better quality. 
  • They blend ELS in medium staple cotton to improve the quality.

Reasons for lack of cultivation of ELS cotton:

• Low production: 
  • ELS cotton yields only 7-8 quintals per acre, while medium staple cotton yields 10-12 quintals per acre. 
  • This is a major reason why farmers hesitate to adopt ELS cotton.
• Difficult to sell at premium prices: 
  • ELS cotton is of high quality, but farmers have problems selling their premium produce at a reasonable price.
  • The required market linkages are not easily available.
• Threat of pests and diseases: 
  • Pest and disease attack is also a major problem during cultivation of ELS cotton, affecting production and quality.
• Lack of technology:
  • Cultivation of ELS cotton requires the highest science and technology, but it is not properly accessible to farmers. 
  • Apart from this, the use of GM (genetic modification) technology is also an important step, which has not yet been widely implemented.

Challenges for ELS cotton cultivation in India:

• Low yield: 
  • The per acre yield of ELS cotton in India is much lower than in other countries. 
    • For example, Brazil has an average yield of 20 quintals per acre and China has 15 quintals. In India, this number is quite low, which hinders the progress of cultivation.
• Lack of smart agricultural technology: 
  • Farmers are not able to benefit from better seeds, timely agricultural advice and latest technology. 
    • Due to this, the problems in farming increase further.
• Illegal seeds and technology: 
  • Farmers of Maharashtra have been demanding for a long time that they should be allowed to cultivate HTBT cotton (herbicide-resistant), which is currently illegal. 
  • This can help in weed management.

Possibility of improvement from Cotton Mission:

• Under the Cotton Mission, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced to provide the best science and technology support to the farmers. 
• Through this, farmers will be exposed to new technologies, which can improve the yield and quality of ELS cotton.
• Adopting GM technology can be a welcome step. 
• This will make it easier to deal with pests and diseases and can increase the yield.
• Adopting better seeds and new agricultural techniques can improve the condition of cotton production in India.
• The production of high-quality varieties like ELS can be increased by using biological and genetic technology.