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 :

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

- 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
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
Reduction in mixing cost
Yarn with better quality |
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
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.
Energy efficient delinting
Edible protein from kernel
|
Information compiled, Page designed and developed by M. Sabesh,
Scientist(SS), CICR