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Abstract
Cotton is a very important crop for the sustainable economy of India and livelihood of the Indian cotton farming community. It is cultivated in about 312 lakh hectares across the world and in around 117 lakh hectares in the country. Thus, India accounts for around 37.5% of the global cotton area and contributes to 26% of the global cotton produce. Cotton continues to enjoy a pre-eminent and the most favored fibre status among the Indian textile mills, as the major raw material for the textile industry. Cotton is the second largest Kharif crop of the country, after Rice contributing 6-7% of the net sown area. Cotton in India provides direct livelihood to 6 million farmers and about 40 -50 million people are employed in cotton trade and its processing. Cotton is the backbone of textile industry, which consumes 59 % of the country’s total fibre production. The cotton textile industry is the oldest and one of the largest single industries in the country. Cotton is cultivated in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, besides, in small areas in non- traditional states like Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Assam and Tripura. The area under Maharashtra state during 2007-08 was 31.91 lakh ha with the production of 60.00 l bales and productivity of 320 kg lint /ha (Anonymous, 2008). Cotton plant subjects to infection by various fungi, bacteria and viruses which leads to reduction in gross yield and deterioration in quality causing depreciation of market value.