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Background: Cotton is one of the most important commercial crops after food crops, especially in countries like India, where it's grown extensively under rainfed conditions. Because of its usage in multiple industries, such as textile, medicine, and automobile industries, it has greater commercial importance. The crop's performance is greatly influenced by prevailing weather dynamics. As climate changes, assessing how weather changes affect crop performance is essential. Among various techniques that are available, crop models are the most effective and widely used tools for predicting yields. Results: This study compares statistical and machine learning models to assess their ability to predict cotton yield across major producing districts of Karnataka, India, utilizing a long-term dataset spanning from 1990 to 2023 that includes yield and weather factors. The artificial neural networks (ANNs) performed superiorly with acceptable yield deviations ranging within ± 10% during both vegetative stage (F1) and mid stage (F2) for cotton. The model evaluation metrics such as root mean square error (RMSE), normalized root mean square error (nRMSE), and modelling efficiency (EF) were also within the acceptance limits in most districts. Furthermore, the tested ANN model was used to assess the importance of the dominant weather factors influencing crop yield in each district. Specifically, the use of morning relative humidity as an individual parameter and its interaction with maximum and minimum temperature had a major influence on cotton yield in most of the yield predicted districts. These differences highlighted the differential interactions of weather factors in each district for cotton yield formation, highlighting individual response of each weather factor under different soils and management conditions over the major cotton growing districts of Karnataka. Conclusions: Compared with statistical models, machine learning models such as ANNs proved higher efficiency in forecasting the cotton yield due to their ability to consider the interactive effects of weather factors on yield formation at different growth stages. This highlights the best suitability of ANNs for yield forecasting in rainfed conditions and for the study on relative impacts of weather factors on yield. Thus, the study aims to provide valuable insights to support stakeholders in planning effective crop management strategies and formulating relevant policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cultural weaving is a crucial component of the cotton industry, linking rural and urban households through traditional handcrafts and providing income for women, thereby enhancing family livelihoods. The demand for hand-woven garments is on the rise, although a study from 2003 to 2009 revealed a decrease in skill-based wage premiums and a slight wage penalty for women in the garment sector. Traditionally, men and women have collaborated in fabric production, with men handling weaving and women focusing on decoration. Ethiopia is highlighted as a prominent African country for its rich cultural clothing and diverse ethnic heritage. Method: The study employed a qualitative research method with a case study design. Participants were selected through purposive and availability sampling for semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. After reaching saturation with fourteen weavers and key informants, data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Result: The study highlights that women weavers of cultural clothes face numerous challenges, including socio-cultural issues, psychological problems, and economic difficulties such as material shortages and outdated technology. Despite these obstacles, there are opportunities for improvement through institutional support, training programs, and social networking. Ultimately, these women benefit from income generation, work flexibility, skill development, and enhanced social satisfaction, positively impacting their lives and their families' livelihoods. Conclusion: The study suggests that the Women, Children, and Social Affairs Office of Keeble should systematically address the challenges faced by women weavers, particularly regarding access to essential services and materials. Additionally, it calls for a shift in community attitudes to recognize weaving as a valuable profession that can improve lives rather than being viewed negatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Our research seeks to understand how actors in the Australian cotton industry can address downstream labour and human rights risks in the textiles and apparel value chain. Design/methodology/approach: Taking the Australian cotton industry as the site of our action research project, we conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of 19 interviews, supplemented by industry engagement and desktop research. Findings: We identify seven opportunities for action by the Australian cotton industry to address downstream labour and human rights risks, which are articulated in the context of a strategic enforcement approach. Originality/value: The research focuses on opportunities for action to address downstream labour and human rights risks, thereby going beyond the traditional interventions by fashion brands and retailers that target upstream actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The removal of plastic contamination from cotton lint is a critical issue for the U.S. cotton industry. One primary source of this contamination is the plastic wrap used on cotton modules by John Deere round module harvesters. Despite rigorous efforts by cotton ginning personnel to eliminate plastic during module unwrapping, fragments still enter the gin's processing system. To address this, we developed a machine-vision detection and removal system using low-cost color cameras to identify and expel plastic from the gin-stand feeder apron, preventing contamination. However, the system, comprising 30–50 ARM computers running Linux, poses significant challenges in terms of calibration and tuning, requiring extensive technical knowledge. This research aims to transform the system into a plug-and-play appliance by incorporating an auto-calibration algorithm that dynamically tracks cotton colors and excludes plastic images to maintain calibration integrity. We present the image dataset that was used to validate the design, consisting of several key AI Vision-Transformer image classifiers that form the heart of the auto-calibration algorithm, which is expected to reduce setup and operational overhead significantly. The auto-calibration feature will minimize the need for skilled personnel, facilitating the broader adoption of the plastic removal system in the cotton ginning industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Cotton cultivation spans over 30 million hectares across 85 countries and regions, with more than half participating in the global cotton textile trade. The elongated cotton fiber cell is an ideal model for studying cell elongation and understanding plant growth and development. Brassinosteroids (BRs), recognized for their role in cell elongation, offer the potential for improving cotton fiber quality and yield. Despite extensive research highlighting BR's positive impact on fiber development, a comprehensive review on this topic has been lacking. This review addresses this gap, providing a detailed analysis of the latest advancements in BR signaling and its effects on cotton fiber development. We explore the complex network of BR biosynthesis components, signaling molecules, and regulators, including crosstalk with other pathways and transcriptional control mechanisms. Additionally, we propose molecular strategies and highlight key genetic elements for optimizing BR‐related genes to enhance fiber quality and yield. The review emphasizes the importance of BR homeostasis and the hormonal landscape during cotton fiber development, offering insights into targeted manipulation opportunities and challenges. This consolidation offers a comprehensive understanding of BR's multifaceted roles in fiber development, outlining a strategic approach for BR optimization in cotton fiber quality and yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cultivation, manufacture, and trade of cotton formed an economic environment incubating the expansion of the influence of a class of local leaders, where the political overlapped with the agricultural, commercial, and industrial, in a social development that formed an intertwined middle. Objective: This research aims to explain the nature of this interaction between the prosperity of cotton cultivation and the rise in the power of local leadership under flexible Ottoman authority, as the local economy and its openness at the regional and global levels played a decisive role in this interaction, which created a space for the political economy in the eighteenth century. Methodology: In its clarification of this political economic overlap, the research harmonizes the historical analysis approach with the historical descriptive approach. Results and Conclusions: helped achieve the hypothesis of the Golden Age in Palestine, as a result of the effective management of the cotton monopoly in the Galilee, for a period of seventy years, in the face of the penetration of French merchants, with the competitive, local and regional cotton production in Nablus Mountain. As a result, this led to strengthening the role of traditional families; but it also contributed to the emergence of marginalized families such as Al-Jayousi family in the Bani Saab area of Shaarawiyah, and organized local forces such as the merchant class. Recommendations: This research remains open to further scrutiny, especially in the records of the Sharia Court, to reveal the details of the influence of cotton cultivation and its extensive activities throughout two continuous centuries of the Ottoman history of Palestine, especially about the success of Zahir al-Umar (1775 AD) in caring for the farmers, and his ability to balance the French ambitions of trade with the Galilee cotton and the internal Ottoman entitlements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research paper presents the ARIMA model for forecasting the price of cotton from January 2016 to December 2023. The objective of the research paper is to evaluate the most suitable model for estimating the price of cotton. On the basis of historical data collected for the period, the ARIMA model provides a prediction, in which the data has been applied by first order difference to remove the random walk hypothesis problems. It has been observed that ARIMA(4,1,3) is the most appropriate method for anticipating the price of cotton. The MAPE and RMSE are 15.10 and 6902.831. The results also revealed that the price of cotton is forecastable. Moreover, investors could also multiply their returns by capitalizing on these commodities. The suggested model could help the farmers to forecast the price of cotton and fix the price of cotton thereby ensuring price stability. The stakeholders associated with the cotton industry specifically spinning mills can plan their materials procurement as per forecasted prices of cotton. Furthermore, the prediction of the cotton prices will help the government in setting up the minimum support price to serve as a safety net for farmers and ensure that farmers receive a fair price for their cotton production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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India ranks second in the global cotton balance, next only China. Cotton is the mainstay of India's textile industry, accounting for roughly 74% of total textile mill usage. India's cotton production has increased due to the introduction and rapid geographical expansion of bollworm resistant Bt cotton. The objective of this paper is to compare cotton balance analyses and to investigate the factors that have influenced cotton development over the last 22 years. The pertinent arguments presented in this article support the analytical discussion of the cotton trade's yearly trends. Between 2000-01 and 2021-22, there will be an average of 30 million bales of cotton produced, 5.6 million exported and 1.4 million imported by India. By adding observable carryover stocks, the entire supply of cotton in India has consistently outperformed the total demand. However, Indian cotton farmers face a variety of issues, including increasing production costs, unmanageable debts, stagnant yields, constant pesticide use, inadequate irrigation, a lack of modern technology, manual picking, vulnerability to contamination, deterioration in genetic purity, competition from artificial fibres, particularly synthetic fibre, fluctuating market prices and lack of CCI participation. To boost cotton output, governments must provide high-yielding, high-quality hybrid seeds and appropriate irrigation infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bt technology has played significant role in controlling bollworms and increasing cotton yield in earlier days of its introduction, a subsequent decline in yield became apparent over time. This decline may be attributed to various environmental factors, pest dynamics, or combination of both. Therefore, the present biophysical survey and questionnaire were designed to evaluate the impact of Bt cotton on bollworms management and its effect on reducing spray costs, targeting farmers with varied landholdings and educational backgrounds. Additionally, data on farmers' cultivated varieties and the prevalence of bollworms and sucking insects in their fields were recorded. Subsequently, about eleven thousand cotton samples from farmer fields were tested for Cry1Ac, Cry2Ab and Vip3A genes by strip test. Results: In this analysis, 83% of the farmers planting approved varieties believe that Bt technology control bollworms, while 17% hold contradictory views. Similarly, among farmers cultivating unapproved varieties, 77% agree on effectiveness of Bt technology against bollworms, while 23% disagree. On the other hand, 67% of farmers planting approved varieties believe that Bt technology does not reduce spray costs, while 33% agree with the effectiveness. Similarly, 78% of farmers cultivating unapproved varieties express doubt regarding its role to reduce spray costs, while 22% are in favour of this notion. Differences in opinions on the effectiveness of Bt cotton in controlling bollworms and reducing spray cost between farmers planting unapproved and approved varieties may stem from several factors. One major cause is the heavy infestation of sucking insects, which is probably due to the narrow genetic variation of the cultivated varieties. Additionally, the widespread cultivation of unapproved varieties (21.67%) is also an important factor to cause different opinions on the effectiveness of Bt cotton. Conclusion: Based on our findings, we propose that the ineffective control of pests on cotton crop may be attributed to large scale cultivation of unapproved varieties and non-inclusion of double and triple transgene technologies in country's sowing plan. On the basis of our findings, we suggest cotton breeders, regulatory bodies and legislative bodies to discourage the cultivation of unapproved varieties and impure seed. Moreover, the adoption of double and triple Bt genes in cottons with a broad genetic variation could facilitate the revival of the cotton industry, and presenting a promising way forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the mid–19th century, cotton production and trade became increasingly important in and around Smyrna. This was due to a combination of factors, including favourable climate conditions, fertile plains in the region, and international demand from England and other European countries. These countries were unable to purchase American cotton due to the American Civil War, which made cotton produced in Smyrna even more valuable and in demand. The purpose of this study is to examine the changes and developments in cotton production and trade in Smyrna between 1855–1870, with a particular focus on the general course of Anglo—Ottoman commercial relations during this period. The sources used for this study include the Ottoman Archives, British Press, official publications, and reports. This study aims to shed light on the economic and commercial history of Smyrna during this period, by analysing the factors that contributed to the growth of cotton production and trade in the region. By examining the primary sources available, we can gain a better understanding of the social, political, and economic context in which cotton production and trade took place, and the impact it had on the local and international economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil health, how it is defined and characterized, has long been a topic of debate, but its importance has never been in doubt. The FAO has provided a unifying definition of what soil health is, but uncertainty remains as to how it will be measured. While finding suitable soil health indicators remains challenging, there is growing pressure from external drivers on land managers to demonstrate they are valuing their soil health. With these issues in mind, the Australian cotton industry developed a soil health framework with the potential to address both competing demands. Taking a lead from the human health management, which focuses on prevention through promotion of adoptable healthy activity principles, and incorporating principles from the existing soil frameworks, we conceived one that is relevant to Australian cotton farmers. The outcome promotes beneficial but non‐prescriptive land management practices, which have mechanisms in place to financially reward growers for adoption and facilitates industry monitoring. The Soil Health Framework, also has potential for other agricultural sectors and represents a solution to the current impasse over soil health assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the challenges faced by cotton production in Pakistan, including climate change, pests and diseases, and competition from food crops. One major issue is maintaining seed purity, as cotton is often cross-pollinated. The article explores the possibility of growing cotton in Karachi, Pakistan, as it offers a mild tropical climate that allows for the advancement of three cotton generations in a single year. This can reduce the time required for breeding new cotton varieties and maintain seed purity. The article concludes that Karachi provides a great opportunity for cotton breeders, research institutes, seed companies, and other stakeholders. [Extracted from the article]

Low-quality cotton fibers are a low-value waste material within the cotton industry. Upcycling and transforming into high-value materials are highly desired. This study investigates upcycling fibers into hydrogel biosorbents and assesses their efficacy in dye adsorption. An effective gelation approach was employed via simply dropping droplets of suspension mixture of sodium alginate and fibers into acidic bath. Resulting composite hydrogel beads were utilized for dye removal. Composite beads successfully immobilized less than 70 wt% of fibers and achieved a significant improvement in thermal stability. Composite beads with 50 wt% fibers and alginate showed no decrease in methylene blue adsorption capacity. This outcome was unexpected considering the lower dye adsorption capacity of fibers than alginate, particularly notable since it indicated that reduced quantities of the more costly sodium alginate were sufficient to achieve comparable dye adsorption capacity. Mechanistic study unveiled that both the loose crosslinking structure and the electrostatic forces were responsible for the unexpected high adsorption capacity of 50% fiber-alginate. This study reports a promising, innovative and effective upcycle strategy for the first time that can transform fibers into high-value biosorbents without compromising dye adsorption capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the mid-19th century onwards, the acceleration of capitalist expansion in indigenous South America was driven by a series of extractive endeavors such as the rubber industry in the Bolivian Amazon, the dairy, meat and tannin industries in the Chaco, or the sugar and cotton industries in northern Argentina. These industrial enterprises advanced on indigenous territories that until then had been considered “frontiers”, “deserts” or “empty spaces”, and became key players in the final phase of their colonization. By relying on an interdisciplinary approach, the investigations gathered in this dossier aim to document and analyze the role of female wage labor in these macro-processes, aiming at questioning the hyper-masculinization of the industry’s canonical imaginary, restoring indigenous women’s agency in the extractive worlds, and to reposition it within the broader framework of South America’s general history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Plant hormones profoundly influence cotton growth, development, and responses to various stresses. Therefore, there is a pressing need for an efficient assay to quantify these hormones in cotton. In this groundbreaking study, we have established QuEChERS-HPLC‒MS/MS method, for the simultaneous detection of multiple plant hormones in cotton leaves, allowing the analysis and quantification of five key plant hormones. Results: Sample extraction and purification employed 0.1% acetic acid in methanol and C18 for optimal recovery of plant hormones. The method applied to cotton demonstrated excellent linearity across a concentration range of 0.05–1 mg·L−1, with linear regression coefficients exceeding 0.99. The limits of quantification (LOQs) were 20 μg·kg−1 for GA3 and 5 μg·kg−1 for the other four plant hormones. Recovery rates for the five plant hormones matrix spiked at levels of 5, 10, 100, and 1000 μg·kg−1 were in the range of 79.07% to 98.97%, with intraday relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranging from 2.11% to 8.47%. The method was successfully employed to analyze and quantify the five analytes in cotton leaves treated with plant growth regulators. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that the method is well-suited for the determination of five plant hormones in cotton. It exhibits excellent selectivity and sensitivity in detecting field samples, thus serving as a robust tool for in-depth research into cotton physiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The lint percentage of seed cotton is one of the most important parameters for evaluating seed cotton quality and affects its price. The traditional measuring method of lint percentage is labor-intensive and time-consuming; thus, an efficient and accurate measurement method is needed. In recent years, classification-based deep learning and computer vision have shown promise in solving various classification tasks. Results: In this study, we propose a new approach for detecting the lint percentage using MobileNetV2 and transfer learning. The model is deployed on a lint percentage detection instrument, which can rapidly and accurately determine the lint percentage of seed cotton. We evaluated the performance of the proposed approach using a dataset comprising 66 924 seed cotton images from different regions of China. The results of the experiments showed that the model with transfer learning achieved an average classification accuracy of 98.43%, with an average precision of 94.97%, an average recall of 95.26%, and an average F1-score of 95.20%. Furthermore, the proposed classification model achieved an average accuracy of 97.22% in calculating the lint percentage, showing no significant difference from the performance of experts (independent-sample t-test, t = 0.019, P = 0.860). Conclusion: This study demonstrated the effectiveness of the MobileNetV2 model and transfer learning in calculating the lint percentage of seed cotton. The proposed approach is a promising alternative to traditional methods, providing a rapid and accurate solution for the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in the central Indian cotton belt, I examine two historical moments: (1) the expansion of agrarian capitalism and absorption of market logics into the peasant household in the colonial period; and (2) changes in seed technology and gendered labor required for cultivating hybrid cotton in the postcolonial era. Through these transformations, cotton farmers have maintained a harvest ritual in the fields. Through a comparison of contemporary and historical versions of this ritual, a new theory of ritual emerges, one that displaces the primacy of the linguistic sign, instead considering the semiotic force of the image. Ritual, in this rendering, is not only a material archive of social history but also an aesthetic and creative practice through which women farmers sacralize their own labor. Amid transforming regimes of cash‐crop agriculture, the ritual situates regimes of cotton growing in the bodily and affective labor of the female farming body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This analysis proposes an analytical method to trace the precise pathways through which impacts from a specific origin are disseminated worldwide and embodied in high‐income nations' consumption. Our methodological approach is based on a multi‐regional input–output model developed using EXIOBASE data for 2019. The model is extended with the structural path analysis (SPA) methodology, which allows us to trace and quantify the critical interactions in the impacts' dissemination process from their origin until reaching their destination as final demand in a specific industry and region. The SPA method is explored both in gross and net terms as complementary perspectives to disentangle the complexity of global value chains, which is the main contribution of our approach. The net assessment accounts just for interindustry transactions, whereas the gross analysis considers all steps of the value chain, even those occurring at an intraindustry level. In this work, we analyze a case study to expose the features of this proposal, which focuses on assessing the global reach of forced labor in the cotton industry in the two leading worldwide cotton producers. Textile global value chains are intricate and complex, making it hard to trace the negative social impacts linked to them. Therefore, a deeper understanding of how forced labor is disseminated worldwide until reaching developed nations is necessary to shed light on the social sustainability debate. Although this kind of forced labor seems to be a regional affair, our results show that more than 13% of the estimated forced workers are attributed to the European Union and the United States consumption, respectively, with apparel, footwear, and textiles as key goods embodying these workers. After analyzing the specific paths of dissemination linked to the fashion demand of the European Union and the United States, our key findings show the predominant role of the Chinese and Indian textile industries in most paths given the high number of intrasectoral transformations inside this sector. We also show that forced labor in the Chinese cotton industry is even more distant to the final consumer than usual unskilled labor, which is an additional obstacle to its traceability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bale packaging is the final step in processing cotton at the gin. Bale packaging is critical to protecting and preserving the quality of the ginned lint during shipping and storage before consumption at the textile mill. Smooth operation of the bale press and associated systems is required for the efficient operation of the ginning plant. Properly shaped bales are important to the safe and efficient handling and storage of bales. The bale press, condenser, and hydraulic systems must be sized to match the design capacity of the ginning plant in order to maximize capacity. Bale presses may be designed to produce Universal Density bales or High Density bales, although only Universal Density bales are currently approved by USDA. Proper maintenance of the bale press and related systems translates into reduced downtime for the ginning plant. All bale packaging, including the bale covering and strapping or ties, must be approved by the Joint Cotton Industry Bale Packaging Committee in order for the bales to be eligible for collateral in the Commodity Credit Corporation loan program. This manuscript discusses the individual components of a cotton gin bale packaging system and settings to ensure the consistent production of uniform bales of cotton lint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of replacing soybean meal with cottonseed cake in the diet offered to Santa Inês sheep on their performance, carcass yield and economic viability. Thirty-two uncastrated male sheep (27.48 ± 4.96 kg and 12 months old) were distributed in a completely randomized design, with 4 treatments (replacement of 0, 14, 28 and 42% of soybean meal with cottonseed cake in dry matter basis) and 8 replications. The inclusion levels of cottonseed cake in their diet provided a reduction in performance, thoracic perimeter, body capacity (measured in vivo), slaughter body weight, hot and cold carcass weights, external length, rump perimeter, thoracic perimeter, carcass compactness index, and leg compactness index (p < 0.05). The weights of the left half carcass, shoulder, neck, loin, and leg were reduced with increasing levels of cottonseed cake in their diet (p < 0.05). The quadratic effect was observed for the rib weight and the yield (p < 0.05). Diets with cottonseed cake had lower total feed costs/animal, revenue, gross margin, and leveling price, and had a higher benefit/cost. Under experimental conditions, despite reducing the feed costs and presenting an improvement in the cost ratio benefit, the use of levels up to 42% of cottonseed cake in sheep diets is not recommended, as it negatively affects the animal performance, carcass weights, and commercial cuts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cotton is the most significant natural fiber in the world and an important part of the global economy. Yet, the cotton industry faces several challenges in securing its place in the global fiber market share, reaching new consumers, and maintaining relationships with current consumers. Furthermore, the cotton industry has a unique opportunity to share evidence-based information with followers through its product marketing on social media. The study described herein used content analysis to explore Instagram content on the @discovercotton profile. Content included categories of promoted products (i.e. women, men, children, or home); comments, posts, and caption stimuli; and most frequently used word, hashtag, and retail partner stimuli. We analyzed 434 Instagram stimuli (244 single photos, 142 carousels, and 48 videos) from March 2, 2021, to March 2, 2023. Across all stimuli, there were 110,143 likes and 5,799 comments with total response (engagement: likes and comments) reaching 115,942. We found that women's products were promoted most often followed by men, home, and children--only 8.48% of stimuli depicted cotton, a cotton plant, or the seal of cotton. We identified six major themes in caption stimuli on @discovercotton: qualities of cotton, style, sustainability, check the label, women, and cotton production. Cotton was the most frequently used word stimuli in captions, and cotton as a fabric was the most promoted theme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-quality cotton fibers, often overlooked as low-value materials, constitute a marginalized waste stream in the cotton industry. This study endeavored to repurpose these fibers into mulch gel films, specifically exploring their efficacy in covering moisture-controlled soil beds. Through a meticulously designed series of processing methods, cellulose/glycerol film was successfully fabricated by regenerating cellulose hydrogels in N,N-dimethylacetamide/lithium chloride solutions, followed by plasticization in glycerol/water solutions and hot pressing. The film was then employed to cover soil beds for a duration of up to 252 days, followed by soil burial assessments. Despite expectations of degradation, the film maintained structural integrity throughout the soil covering period but underwent complete biodegradation after 80 days of soil burial, thereby completing a closed carbon cycle. Intriguingly, both tensile strength and modulus exhibited no diminishment but instead increased after soil covering, contrary to expectations given the usual role of degradation. Mechanistic insights revealed that the removal of glycerol contributed to the mechanical enhancement, while microbial activity predominately decomposed the amorphous regions in soil covering and targeted the crystalline portions in soil burial, elucidating the main biodegradation mechanisms. In summary, this study presents, for the first time, the potential of upcycling low-quality cotton fibers into high-value mulch gel films for agricultural practices within a closed carbon cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Baseball in Huntsville" by Mark McCarter is a comprehensive look at the history of baseball in Huntsville, Alabama. The book covers over a hundred years of baseball in the region, from the early professional teams in the 1900s to the present-day Rocket City Trash Pandas. McCarter explores the challenges and successes of professional baseball in Huntsville, highlighting notable players from the area who went on to achieve major league success. The book is insightful, entertaining, and provides a valuable perspective on the enduring love for baseball in Huntsville. [Extracted from the article]

Plastic contamination in cotton lint poses significant challenges to the U.S. cotton industry, with plastic wrap from John Deere round module harvesters being a primary contaminant. Despite efforts to manually remove this plastic during module unwrapping, some inevitably enters the cotton gin's processing system. To address this, a machine-vision detection and removal system has been developed. This system uses inexpensive color cameras to identify plastic on the gin stand feeder apron, triggering a mechanism that expels the plastic from the cotton stream. However, the system, composed of 30–50 Linux-based ARM computers, requires substantial effort for calibration and tuning and presents a technological barrier for typical cotton gin workers. This research aims to transition the system to a more user-friendly, plug-and-play model by implementing an auto-calibration function. The proposed function dynamically tracks cotton colors while excluding plastic images that could hinder performance. A critical component of this auto-calibration algorithm is the hand intrusion detector, or "HID", which is discussed in this paper. In the normal operation of a cotton gin, the gin personnel periodically have to clear the machine, which entails running a stick or their arm/hand under the detection cameras. This results in the system capturing a false positive, which interferes with the ability of auto-calibration algorithms to function correctly. Hence, there is a critical need for an HID to remove these false positives from the record. The anticipated benefits of the auto-calibration function include reduced setup and maintenance overhead, less reliance on skilled personnel, and enhanced adoption of the plastic removal system within the cotton ginning industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India is one of the world's largest producers and exporters of cotton, the major raw material for the textile industry, employing more than 4.5 crore people in the country. The present study aimed to analyse the impact of adverse trade in Indian cotton sector on labor and household income by employing Social Analysis Matrix based multiplier model and partial equilibrium model. Indian textile sector has strong backward linkages with primary input multiplier and household income multiplier of 4.13 and 3.44, respectively and, thus transmitting external impacts to the labour and household income. The sector has a higher multiplier effect of 10.17 on production activities, of which the impact on the cotton sector is 0.126. Fall in export and domestic demand for clothing and apparel in addition to movement restrictions around the world during the period 2020-2021, disrupted cotton supply chain and consequent fall in demand and price of the commodity. Simulations for the increase in carry-over stock and reduction in domestic consumption and cotton exports revealed that limiting the commodity's production and supply would retain the market equilibrium and increase the domestic price to the advantage of the farmers. The study reveals that dynamics in the Indian cotton sector trade significantly impacted labour and household income. Appropriate planning for areas under cotton cultivation and alternate procurement mechanisms during emergency situations would stabilise the Indian cotton economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to promote sustainability-based education in fashion design and merchandising program to enhance students' knowledge, skills and attitude about sustainability development, organizational responsibility and personal responsibility from the cotton industry perspective. Design/methodology/approach: To conduct this study, three learning components were considered: learning from experts, learning by doing and outreach activity. Sustainability-related topics were strategically incorporated in different courses for one year; project-based learning approach was adopted; and pre–posttest survey was conducted to study the impact of sustainability-based education on student learning outcome. Rand's principles-attributes matrix was applied to analyze the impact of sustainable education on student learning outcomes. Findings: The results of course projects indicated enhanced student's abilities on using use different types of cotton materials in product development, creative use of cotton in visual merchandising and development of business plans focused on sustainability. The two-group mean comparisons showed a significant positive impact on students' knowledge in cotton and sustainability, followed by students' skills and attitudes. Originality/value: In response to the lack of systematic approach to incorporate sustainability-related topics in textile and apparel design discipline, this study offered an opportunity to involve approximately 110 students in various sustainability-based teaching and learning projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Before the 19th century, the Sudan had a distinctive social system in which decentralized kingdoms held the political power. The article assumes that this intersocietal system entered a process of incorporation into the capitalist world-economy in the 19th century. Early modernization policies pursued in the Sudan during the Turco-Egyptian administration between 1821-1885 period, known as the Turkiyya. This rule shifted to the Anglo-Egyptian administration in 1899, after British forces defeating the short-lived Mahdist rule. Upon establishment of the new condominium government, the Sudan became a peripheral supplier of the expanding world economy. Throughout the peripheralization, the British gained control of raw materials such as gum arabic and cotton from the Nile valley, which were then transported to factories located in the mainland England. This article investigates economic incorporation process of the Sudan, specifically focusing on the Gezira Scheme, established with a colonial mentality, and mainly based on cotton production. The effect of this process was evident during the 1930s, when the country had been seriously impacted by the global economic crisis of 1929. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a system analysis of the facility as a complex production and economic system, a multi-level hierarchical structure of an integrated management system for the main production of a cotton processing enterprise has been developed as the main task of corporate management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Verticillium wilt is one of the most crucial diseases caused by Verticillium dahliae that threatens the cotton industry. Statistical results showed that the return of cotton plants infected with V. dahliae to the field might be an essential cause of the continuous aggravation of cotton Verticilliumwilt. The correlation among the cotton plants infected with V. dahliae returning to the field, the occurrence of Verticillium wilt, and the number of microsclerotia in rhizosphere soil need further investigation. A potted experiment was carried out to explore the effects of the direct return of cotton plants infected with Verticillium dahliae to the field on the subsequent growth and Verticillium wilt occurrence in cotton. As a risk response plan, we investigated the feasibility of returning dung-sand (i.e., insect excreta) to the field, the dung-sand was from the larvae of Protaetia brevitarsis (Coleoptera: Cetoniidea) that were fed with the V. dahliae--infected cotton plants. The results demonstrated that the return of the entire cotton plants to the field presented a promotional effect on the growth and development of cotton, whereas the return of a single root stubble or cotton stalks had an inhibitive effect. The return of cotton stalks and root stubble infected with V. dahliae increased the risk and degree of Verticillium wilt occurrence. The disease index of Verticillium wilt occurrence in cotton was positively correlated with the number ofmicrosclerotia in the rhizosphere soil. The disease index increased by 20.00%, and the number of soil microsclerotia increased by 8.37 fold in the treatment of returning root stubble infected with V. dahliae to the field. No Verticillium wilt microsclerotia were detected in the feed prepared from cotton stalks and root stubble fermented formore than 5 days or in the transformed dungsand. There was no risk of inoculation with Verticillium wilt microsclerotia when the dung-sand was returned to the field. The indirect return of cotton plants infected with V. dahliae to the field by microorganism--insect systems is worthy of further exploration plan of the green prevention and control for Verticillium wilt and the sustainable development of the cotton industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) is the most devastating insect-pest in cotton crop. It is vector of the cotton leaf curl virus (CLCV) and is responsible for huge losses to cotton industry in Pakistan and worldwide. It is mainly controlled by insecticides but the injudicious use of insecticides has resulted in insecticide resistance and population resurgence in addition to various harmful effects on the humans, non-target organisms and the environment. Transgenerational studies are very helpful to choose a best insecticidal option. In the current study, age-stage two-sex life table analysis was used to identify transgenerational effects of sublethal doses of afidopyropen. The adults of B. tabaci were treated with three concentrations of afidopyropen i.e., LC10, LC30 and LC50. The results indicated significant changes in the progeny i.e. the fecundity decreased in treated population; and female and male longevity of their progeny were more in control as compared to treated populations. Similarly, population parameters like intrinsic rate of growth (r), net reproductive rate (R0) and limiting rate of growth (λ) were significantly decreased in the treated adult progeny with values of 0.08–0.11, 4.85–7.46 and 1.09–1.12 per day, respectively. Based on the reduced biotic potential, afidopyropen can be suggested as an effective alternative option for the management of B. tabaci. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Industria Textila is the property of Institutul National de Cercetare-Dezvoltare pentru Textile si Pielarie and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: The cotton industry suffers significant yield losses annually due to Verticillium wilt, which is considered the most destructive disease affecting the crop. However, the precise mechanisms behind this disease in cotton remain largely unexplored. Methods: Our approach involved utilizing transcriptome data from G. australe which was exposed to Verticillium dahliae infection. From this data, we identified ethylene-responsive factors and further investigated their potential role in resistance through functional validations via Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) in cotton and overexpression in Arabidopsis. Results: A total of 23 ethylene response factors (ERFs) were identified and their expression was analyzed at different time intervals (24 h, 48 h, and 72 h post-inoculation). Among them, GauERF105 was selected based on qRT-PCR expression analysis for further investigation. To demonstrate the significance of GauERF105, VIGS was utilized, revealing that suppressing GauERF105 leads to more severe infections in cotton plants compared to the wild-type. Additionally, the silenced plants exhibited reduced lignin deposition in the stems compared to the WT plants, indicating that the silencing of GauERF105 also impacts lignin content. The overexpression of GauERF105 in Arabidopsis confirmed its pivotal role in conferring resistance against Verticillium dahliae infection. Our results suggest that WT possesses higher levels of the oxidative stress markers MDA and H2O2 as compared to the overexpressed lines. In contrast, the activities of the antioxidant enzymes SOD and POD were higher in the overexpressed lines compared to the WT. Furthermore, DAB and trypan staining of the overexpressed lines suggested a greater impact of the disease in the wild-type compared to the transgenic lines. Conclusions: Our findings provide confirmation that GauERF105 is a crucial candidate in the defense mechanism of cotton against Verticillium dahliae invasion, and plays a pivotal role in this process. These results have the potential to facilitate the development of germplasm resistance in cotton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cotton is a significant raw material source for textiles, food, and other sectors, as well as a major influence in worldwide and national trade and industry. The primary goals of this research are to examine the cotton production and trade in which Türkiye plays a significant role in global production; to analyse international competitiveness; and to forecast the next ten years using data from 1961 to 2020. The Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA) method will be employed to investigate its international competitiveness, and the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) Box-Jenkins model will be used to forecast the comparative advantage of the Turkish cotton industry. According to the findings, Türkiye ranks seventh in cotton production, but there was a 21% decrease in 2020 (1.8 million tonnes) compared to 2005 (2.3 million tonnes). When world cotton exports were examined, the USA, Brazil, and India came to the fore, while Türkiye ranked 14th with 87 thousand tonnes in 2020. When the observed cotton RSCA indices for Türkiye were examined, the results revealed no competitive advantage and no specialisation in cotton exports over time. While the RSCA index was 0.68 in 1980, it was down until -0.42 in 2010. In 2020, the RSCA index was -0.03. Furthermore, the forecasting analysis shows that the RSCA indices for cotton export will gradually decline due to periodic fluctuations, eventually falling to -0.18 by 2030. Consequently, the inadequacy of cotton production to meet consumption, as well as cotton imports, may be expressed as reasons for Türkiye's comparative disadvantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aga favours cotton varieties over hybrids (p. 189-190), as do some farmers who desire to save seeds from season to season; seeds from hybrids typically do not breed true, leading to the expense of buying new seeds every year, though often with compensating characteristics farmers desire. Aniket Aga probes questions critical to our species: the vetting of authoritative knowledge of risks and benefits embedded in alternative technologies. COTTON: STATE FAILURE AND STEALTH SEEDS In puzzling contrast to China, India's public sector efforts to produce insect-resistant cotton failed. Three legal hybrid Bt cotton cultivars from MMBL were approved in 2002 and set the path dependency for cotton hybrids in the country (Chapter 6). [Extracted from the article]

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a significant impact on agriculture. Due to its importance in world trade and human life, the effects of the pandemic on the cotton economy were evaluated by using the data of important organizations such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the World Trade Organization, and International Cotton Advisory Committee in this study. With the Chow test, which measures of structural breaks, the effects of COVID-19 on cotton production and trade were examined. According to the Chow test results, the pandemic had no significant effect on cotton production, exports and imports in the People's Republic of China and Türkiye, while being highly influential on cotton production and exports in the U.S. and Brazil. Distinctively, in Pakistan, it had a significant impact on cotton production and import. It was observed that although the demand, trade and prices for cotton were descended, the cotton prices started to recover with the increase in demand in the third quarter of 2020. In June 2022, the highest peak in cotton prices was observed. As a conclusion, it is shown that cotton production and trade during the pandemic were affected in all countries except People's Republic of China and Türkiye. However, the marks of the effects of factors such as decreasing stocks, uncertainties in national economies, high inflation and increase in production costs on the cotton economy will be better understood in the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cotton is a cornerstone of global fiber markets, and many importing and exporting countries play important roles in the global cotton market. The US cotton sector has long been one of the world's largest. However, Brazil's cotton production has rapidly grown, and the country has become one of the leading cotton producers, accounting for an ever‐increasing share of world cotton production and trade. This meteoric rise has put Brazil's cotton sector in frequent competition with the United States over export sales and market share. We empirically investigate how the expansion of the Brazilian cotton sector has impacted the US cotton sector's position in world markets by quantifying the extent to which rising Brazilian production has caused reallocations of US exports. We also explore how the recent US–China trade war affected these market dynamics by assessing the impacts of China's retaliatory tariffs on US cotton. Our results show that Brazil's cotton production has caused a major disruption to US cotton exports, resulting in a significant reduction in US exports to large cotton importers such as China, Vietnam, and Pakistan, and that these trends were reversed (at least temporarily) by the US–China trade dispute. By illustrating how competitive forces and trade disputes have shaped recent market dynamics for this key commodity, our work adds to the growing literature examining the interplay between competition and trade policy in the global agricultural sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of embedded location options on Indian agricultural commodity futures returns has not been investigated systematically, despite the available anecdotal evidence suggestive of significant impact. Any significant impact on futures returns translates directly to an impact on hedging effectiveness of the futures. This paper investigates whether the addition of a return term due to the location option helps in explaining futures returns better relative to cash market and storage returns alone for the Chana contract when using regression analysis. Relative importance analysis is used to assess the relative contributions of regressors, and regression coefficients are tested for significance. It is found that the adjusted coefficient of determination improves significantly on adding location option returns as a regressor, and its regression coefficient is significant for the majority of the contracts studied. Relative importance analysis of the regressors shows that location option, on average, accounts for 28% of the explained variability of excess futures. These results suggest that location option impacts futures prices and returns significantly and is a key reason for the poor hedging effectiveness of Indian agricultural commodity futures. These results guide exchanges, regulators and policymakers to reduce the impact of embedded location options by optimizing contract delivery specifications to make futures contracts more useful to hedgers such as farmer producer organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the early XX century, Turkestan represented a remarkable model of economic modernization. Russian commercial banks and the local bourgeoisie welcomed the economic integration of the Central Asian periphery into the Russian Empire. Bukharan Jews had found their economic niche by the 1860s: they traded in cotton and acted as intermediaries between Turkestan cotton producers and Russian textile workers. However, the segregationist policy in the regional industry prohibited them to establish trading houses and, therefore, restricted their ability to obtain bank loans. Eventually, the liberal economic policy initiated by Prime Minister Sergei Yu. Witte facilitated the reorganization of Bukharan-Jewish enterprises. The patriarchal family businesses turned into modern trading and industrial companies, e.g., the Davydov Trading House, the Vadyaev Brothers, etc. The National Bank and the Russian Commercial Bank opened their outlets in the most important commercial and industrial centers of Turkestan, which was another important step towards economic modernization. This article focuses on the role of Russian commercial banks in the activities of Bukharan-Jewish business circles during the modernization of the Central Asian periphery of the Russian Empire in the early XX century. The Davydov Trading House was reorganized in 1906 and became a leader in the cotton trading market. It used the loans from Russian banks to build cotton ginning factories, breweries, and an internal network of seed-cotton suppliers. Unlike the Vadyaev Brothers, the Davidov family failed to create a stable family business model: in the summer of 1914, the Trading House and all its property were controlled by a committee board established by the major creditors from among the Russian commercial banks. In spite of the Great War, the board managed to save the Davydov Trading House from bankruptcy and modernized its operations.

Plastic contamination in marketable cotton bales, predominantly from plastic wraps used in John Deere round module harvesters, poses a significant challenge to the U.S. cotton industry. Despite rigorous manual efforts, the intrusion of plastic into the cotton gin's processing system persists. We have developed a machine-vision detection and removal system aimed at mitigating this problem. This system employs inexpensive color cameras to detect plastic on the gin-stand feeder apron and subsequently removes it, reducing contamination. This system, built around low-cost ARM computers running Linux, comprises 30–50 machines and requires considerable effort to calibrate and tune. Moreover, its operation represents a technological challenge to typical cotton gin workers. This research presents a solution to this calibration operational hurdle by introducing an auto-calibration algorithm that has potential to simplify the system into a plug-and-play device. The auto-calibration system is designed to dynamically track the cotton color and utilizes frequency statistics to avoid plastic images that could compromise the system's performance if incorporated into the auto-calibration process. We detail the design of the auto-calibration algorithm, which is expected to significantly reduce the setup overhead and facilitate the system's continuous use. This innovation minimizes the need for skilled personnel and, therefore, is expected to expedite the system's adoption across the cotton ginning industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of cotton seed is of great significance to the production of cotton in the cotton industry. In order to reduce the workload of the manual sorting of cotton seeds and improve the quality of cotton seed sorting, this paper proposed an image-detection method of cotton seed damage based on an improved YOLOv5 algorithm. Images of cotton seeds with different degrees of damage were collected in the same environment. Cotton seeds of three different damage degrees, namely, undamaged, slightly damaged, and seriously damaged, were selected as the research objects. Labeling software was used to mark the images of these cotton seeds and the marked images were input into the improved YOLOv5s detection algorithm for appearance-based damage identification. The algorithm added the lightweight upsampling operator CARAFE to the original YOLOv5s detection algorithm and also improved the loss function. The experimental results showed that the mAP_0.5 value of the improved algorithm reached 99.5% and the recall rate reached 99.3% when the uncoated cotton seeds were detected. When detecting coated cotton seeds, the mAP_0.5 value of the improved algorithm reached 99.2% and the recall rate reached 98.9%. Compared with the traditional appearance-based damage detection approach, the improved YOLOv5s proposed in this paper improved the recognition accuracy and processing speed, and exhibited a better adaptability and generalization ability. Therefore, the proposed method can provide a reference for the appearance detection of crop seeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Mustafa Kemal University Journal of Agricultural Sciences / Mustafa Kemal Üniversitesi Tarım Bilimleri Dergisi is the property of Mustafa Kemal University, Faculty of Agriculture and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A shipwreck discovered in 2005 and subsequently studied in 2013 and 2017 is the remains of a copper-sheathed, early to mid-nineteenth-century sailing vessel. It appears to be of the type known as a "packet ship" that sank in the Gulf of Mexico in the area of Viosca Knoll sometime between 1830 and 1860. The site is a substantially intact, undisturbed wreck from a key period in the nineteenth-century development of the Gulf of Mexico. During this period, the Gulf became an important part of the American and global maritime economy, particularly in regard to the cotton and sugar trades from New Orleans and Mobile. The general commodities trade to those ports, and early to mid-nineteenth-century immigration by sea to the American Gulf especially linked the world to New Orleans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]