Cotton production makes up more than 40 % of fibre production in the world. It is an extremely important fibre to the textile industry and other cotton products including cottonseed oil and animal feed are also of great economic importance.
The cotton plant is native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world. The harvestable part of the plant, the cotton boll, grows around the seeds of the plant. Historically, due to a toxin produced by the cotton plant, gossypol, the stem and leaves have been unable to be used as a feedstock but in recent developments cotton plants have been produced with the gene for gossypol production 'switched off' so now the woody part of the plant can be used as animal feed.
It is the valuable boll that is unfortunately very susceptable to attack by pest species such as the boll weevil and boll worm.