The June 2018 ICAC Recorder, based on the theme ‘Value Addition of Cotton Fibres and By-Products: Sustainable Practices’, has been released by the International Cotton Advisory Committee’s Head of the Technical Information Section, Dr. Keshav Kranthi. The Q2 edition features three articles and an editorial from Dr. Kranthi that total more than 11,000 words and provide a wealth of data and insights on several topics of crucial importance to the global cotton and textiles industries. 

The issue begins with Dr. Kranthi’s editorial, which addresses the new technologies that are improving sustainability in the cotton and textile industries. ‘This issue attempts to capture these exciting changes using a wide-angle lens to provide a panoramic view of the technological advances in ginning, utilisation of cotton by-products and eco-friendly fibre processing’, Dr. Kranthi said.

The first feature article, authored by Greg Holt and Michael K. Dowd of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, highlights the additional opportunities — beyond the fibre — for growers to generate revenue by taking advantage of the cotton plant’s biomass. Cottonseed, for example, can be crushed into oil for human consumption or pressed into protein-rich cakes for animal feed, and the cotton stalks can be used for everything from growing mushrooms to fuel for boilers to making acoustic absorbing panels.
 

The second article is entitled ‘Sustainable Practices in Small-Scale Cotton Production, Hand Picking, Fibre Processing and By-Product Utilisation: Case Studies in India’. Written by four cotton professionals from India’s Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology — P.G. Patil, P.K. Mandhyan, P. Jagajanantha and C. Sundaramoorthy — the feature addresses sustainability from fibre to fabric; reducing gossypol in cotton seedcake; uses for short-staple fibre; and commercial uses for cotton stalks.
 

The third article, from Bajaj Steel Industries’ M.K. Sharma, highlights ideal ginning practices that will result in enhanced efficiency and fibre output. The author explains how evidence-based, scientific ginning practices can help to minimise costs, preserve cotton-fibre parameters, and reduce both energy consumption and manpower in the processing of cotton.

 

The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) was created to assist members in fostering a healthy world cotton economy. The role of the ICAC is to raise awareness, to provide information, and to serve as a catalyst for cooperative action on issues of international significance.