Production to Consumption System Research - Compunent 2
National Agricultural Innovation Project
Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi

Consortium Leader : Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology (CIRCOT)


Consortium Partners :

Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR), Nagpur
Super Spinning Mills Limited (SSM) Coimbatore

Duration of the sub-project : July 2008 to 2012
Total Cost of the Project: Rs.903 lakhs

Objectives of the Project

  • To grow established cotton genotypes of the long and extra long category in the identified villages with integrated production technology practices.
  • To reduce the level of contaminants in cotton by adopting scientific on- farm and off farm management practices and to label cotton bales with fibre attributes after appropriate ginning.
  • To prepare yarn, fabrics and garments in the modern mill & marketing and to manufacture eco-friendly textiles in handloom sector by employing CIRCOT technology for bio-scoring and natural dyes
  • To ensure additional income to farmers and alternate raw material to industry by utilizing cotton stalks.
  • To demonstrate innovative scientific processing of cotton seed for oil extraction and value addition to its by- products

Project Description

The Indian textile industry contributes to about 14 % of the industrial production and 4% of the GDP. This sector uses cotton as its major raw material constituting about 62% of the fibre used, unlike the global textile industry that has a mix of 40% cotton and 60% man-made fibre. While 35 million people are directly dependent on this sector for their employment an additional 30 million farmers are involved in the cultivation of cotton being one of the major cash crops of India .

 

The Indian cotton production has witnessed a sea change during the last five years with the area under cotton cultivation hovering around nine million hectares. The production

Has increased from 240 lakh bales during 2005-06 to 280 lakh bales in 2006-07.The estimated production during 2007-08 is 310 lakh bales and the projected demand by the Ministry of Textiles for 2012 is 375 lakh bales. The productivity has also risen significantly from 320 Kg/ha of the 90s to about 520 Kg/ha in 2006-07.Cotton consumption by the industry has been growing annually at the rate of 10% and in 2006-07, the consumption by both mill and non-mill sector put together stood at 235 lakh bales. Apart from the fact that one-fourth of the yarn produced in India is being sold outside, raw-cotton export has been also growing significantly @ 15% in recent years. In 2006-07, 55 lakh bales of lint were exported.


Value Chain for Cotton: Weak and Missing Links

There exists a value chain for cotton in India. Seed cotton is ginned into lint which is then mechanically processed into yarn and fabric. This is followed by chemical processing and finishing including dyeing or printing and finally converting it to garments and made-ups for both internal consumption and export. However, there are a few weak as well as missing links in this chain.
  • Lack of scientific management practices both on and off farm for seed cotton picking, storage and transportation to ginneries and market yards in order to reduce trash and avoid contaminants.
  • Ginning, the primary yet crucial mechanical post harvest processing is one of the weakest links characterized by excessive use of energy, and absence of pre and post cleaning.
  • Bale-to-bale tagging of fibre attributes is not practiced in India unlike in USA where every bale is characterized for lint quality by using the High Volume Instrumentation. Bale tagging and segregation of bales as per quality results in saving of about 5% in mixing cost in spinning mills.
  • In the down stream processing such as preparatory chemical treatments like scouring, bleaching etc., lack of energy use efficiency, effluent generation and its treatement are issues that need immediate attention.
  • Cotton stalks are put to any worthwhile use at all.
  • More than 95% of the ginned seeds are directly crushed for oil resulting in loss of precious by-products like linters, seed hulls etc. Even the scientific processing of rest of the 5% of seeds is done not as part of the value chain on cotton.

Innovations

  • Adoption of on-farm and off-farm management practices
  • Tagging of Individual Bales with fibre attributes
  • Microbiological (Bioscouring) scouring of yarns and fabrics
  • Removal of linters from enzyme pretreated seeds
  • Enhanced oil recovery from kernals due to enzyme pretreatment
  • Enrichment of cotton seed hulls with microbila proteins with enhanced digestibility
  • Biological pretreatment of cotton stalks for seeding oyster mushrooms
  • Establishment of cotton stalk supply chain to board industry
  • Gossypol free protein from cotton seed kernel

Research components

  • Efficacy of fabrics dyed with natural dyes for UV protection
  • Enzymatic pre treatment of seed for faster linter recovery
  • Enzymatic pretreatment of kernal for enhanced oil recovery
  • Production of edible protein (gossypol-free) from seed kernal
  • Preparation of briquetters from waste generated during cotton stalk collection and cleaning

Development components

  • Integrated cotton cultivation with best crop management practices
  • Appropriate picking and on- farm management and transportation of seed cotton
  • Tagging of individual bales with fibre attributes
  • Manufacture of yarn, fabric and garment in organized & handloom sector
  • Bio scouring of yarn and fabric
  • New dyeing techniques with natural dyes for improved fastness properties
  • Supply chain for cotton plant stalk
  • Manufacture of composite boards from stalk
  • Low energy pretreatment for sterilization of cotton stalk for raising edible mushrooms
  • Bio enrichment of cotton seed hulls

Environment and social Impact

Following benefits are expected to flow to farming community/rural households/environment once the value chain as envisaged in the project is put into operation

  • Reduction in the use of insecticides/pesticides in cotton cultivation.
  • Reduction in dust level in ginneries
  • Energy efficient pre-processing of textiles and low pollutants in the effluent load.
  • Eco-friendly natural dyes in Handloom products.

Monitoring Indicators

2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

Seed cotton with desired quality

Seed cotton with desired quality

Seed cotton with desired quality

Low levels of contaminants in lint

Low levels of contaminants in lint

Low levels of contaminants in lint

Individual bales tagged with fibre attributes

Individual bales tagged with fibre attributes

Individual bales tagged with fibre attributes

 

Better quality yarn and fabrics

Better quality yarn and fabrics

Installed bio-scouring unit

Bio-scoured yarns and fabrics dyed with natural dyes.

Bio-scoured yarns and fabrics dyed with natural dyes.

 

Handloom woven fabric

 

 

Garments from woven fabrics

Garments from Knitted fabrics

Installed Bio-enrichment plant and bio-enriched hulls in cattle feed ration

Bio-enriched hulls in cattle feed ration

 

Chipped cotton stalk

Chipped cotton stalk

Chipped cotton stalk

 

Particle boards

Particle boards

Anaerobic substrate pretreatment plant

Production of oyster mushrooms

Production of oyster mushrooms

 

Additional recovery of cotton seed oil

Additional recovery of cotton seed oil

Briquettes from cotton stalk wastes

Briquettes from cotton stalk wastes

 

Binderless boards from cottonseed kernel

Binderless boards from cottonseed kernel

 

Edible protein from cottonseed kernel

Edible protein from cottonseed kernel

 

2011-2012 Preparation of policy guideline on monitoring of tagging of bales Compilation of results and submission of final report


Expected Outcome/Deliverables

Area Activity Expected Out Come

Cotton Production

Incorporation of best crop Management Practices

•  15% more yield with desired quality attributes
(high strength,appropriate micronaire,low trash,high ginning outturn)

•  5% premium price for quality produce.

Post harvest Management

Better on-farm and off-farm practices & Quality Characterization of each bale

•  Reduction in trash content in cotton
(from the present 4-5%, to around 1-2%)

•  Reduction in mixing cost
(5% saving in spinning cost)

•  Yarn with better quality
(higher strength, more uniformity)

Chemical Pre-Processing

Bio scouring

•  Eco-friendly(COD level reduced to 50 from 150) Reduction in energy consumption by 100 kwhr for a batch of 25 kg fabric/yarn

Dyeing

Natural dyes for yarns and Fabrics

•  Eco-friendly

•  Effluent water fit for irrigation

•  Workers safely

Cotton Stalks utilization

Chipping, board Manufacture, Mushroom Growing, briquetting

•  Additional income to farmers
(Rs.500/- per tonne of stalks)

•  Energy efficient process for growing mushrooms (Saving of 50 units of electricity for a batch of 50 Kg raw material)

•  An alternate raw material for board industry

Scientific processing of cotton seed

Enzymatic pretreatment.Bio enrichment of hulls. Protein extraction from Kernel

•  Enhanced oil Recovery.
(1% increase in oil yield)

•  Energy efficient delinting
(20% reduction in energy consumption)

•  Edible protein from kernel
(gossypol-free, food grade)


Information compiled, Page designed and developed by M. Sabesh, Scientist(SS), CICR