ABSTRACT
Cotton, the world's major fiber crop, is likely to increase in importance as petrochemicals for the manufacture of synthetic fibers become less affordable and as the population grows. While cotton has become a major source of much-needed foreign exchange in many developing countries, the massive increases in cotton production were achieved at profound social and environmental costs. Cotton can also be grown by individual farmers within small-scale, traditional systems which place less strain on the environment. The major soil impacts of cotton cultivation are associated with irrigation and soil erosion. As cotton exhausts soil nutrients quickly, continuous cotton cultivation rapidly depletes soil fertility. If the cotton is intercropped with a legume, the need for nitrogenous fertilizers can be reduced. More biocides are used in cotton production than in any other crop. Mechanical harvesting of cotton is seldom a satisfactory alternative to hand labor, despite the public health and social dislocation risks and increased labor costs.
