Cottonseed is the

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...

of the

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

plant.

Composition

The mature seeds are brown ovoids weighing about a tenth of a gram. By weight, they are 60%

cotyledon A cotyledon (; ; ; , gen. (), ) is a significant part of the embryo within the seed of a plant, and is defined as "the embryonic leaf in seed-bearing plants, one or more of which are the first to appear from a germinating seed." The numb ...

, 32% coat and 8% embryonic root and shoot. These are 20% protein, 20% oil and 3.5% starch. Fibers grow from the seed coat to form a boll of cotton lint. The boll is a protective

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

and when the plant is grown commercially, it is stripped from the seed by

ginning A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); a ...

and the lint is then processed into cotton fibre. For unit weight of fibre, about 1.6 units of seeds are produced. The seeds are about 15% of the value of the crop and are pressed to make

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

and used as ruminant animal feed. About 5% of the seeds are used for

sowing Sowing is the process of planting seeds. An area or object that has had seeds planted in it will be described as a sowed or sown area. Plants which are usually sown Among the major field crops, oats, wheat, and rye are sown, grasses and le ...

the next crop.

Uses of cottonseed

Feed products for livestock

Cottonseed is crushed in the mill after removing lint from the cotton boll. The seed is further crushed to remove any remaining linters or strands of minute cotton fibers. The seeds are further hulled and polished to release the soft and high-protein meat. These hulls of the cottonseed are then mixed with other types of grains to make it suitable for the livestock feed. Cottonseed meal and hulls are one of the most abundantly available natural sources of protein and fiber used to feed livestock. Cottonseed as supplement is marketed primarily towards agricultural sectors that feed dairy cows. Some feedlots use corn to supplement the forage diets of cows; high starch diets, such as those in corn supplemented diets, can lead to liver damage in cows. Cottonseed is considered a safer alternative to corn supplemented diets due to its low starch content. Cottonseed as livestock feed must also be monitored for safety since the foodstuff is high in energy/fat and too much fat content in a cow's diet can disrupt its ability to digest fiber, leading to other complications. Cottonseed meal Cottonseed meal is a good source of protein. The two types of meal extraction processes are solvent extraction and mechanical extraction. Most of the meal is extracted mechanically through cottonseed kernels. The flaked cottonseed kernels are put under high pressure through a screw inside a constantly revolving barrel. The screw pushes out the oil through the openings made in the barrel. The dry pieces left in the barrel are preserved and ground into meal. During the solvent extraction process, the cottonseed kernels are subjected to fine grinding by pushing them through an expander and then the solvent is used to extract most of the oil. The solvent-extracted meals have a lower fat content of 0.5% than the mechanically extracted meals with a fat content of 2.0%. Cottonseed meal contains more arginine than soybean meal. Cottonseed meal can be used in multiple ways: either alone or mixed with other plant and animal protein sources. Cottonseed hulls The outer coverings of the cottonseed, known as cottonseed hulls, are removed from the cotton kernels before the oil is extracted. Cottonseed hulls are an excellent source of livestock feed as they contain about 8% cotton linters, which are nearly 100% cellulose. They require no grinding and easily mix with other feed sources. As they are easy to handle, their transportation cost is also fairly low. Whole cottonseed is another feed product of cottonseed used to feed livestock. It is the seed left after the separation of long fibres from cotton, and serves as a good source of

cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wa ...

for

ruminants Ruminants (suborder Ruminantia) are hoofed herbivorous grazing or browsing mammals that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by fermenting it in a specialized stomach prior to digestion, principally through microbial actions. The ...

. Whole cottonseed leads to high production of milk and fat when fed to a high-producing dairy cow. It can be cost effective and provides nutrients with a high protein value of about 23%, crude fibre value of 25%, and high energy value of 20%. Whole cottonseed serves as a highly digestible feed which also improves the reproductive performance in livestock. Pima cottonseed, which is free of linters by default, and delinted cottonseed are other types of cottonseed feed products.

Consumption by humans

Cottonseeds are toxic to humans and most animals due to the presence of

gossypol Gossypol () is a natural phenol derived from the cotton plant (genus '' Gossypium''). Gossypol is a phenolic aldehyde that permeates cells and acts as an inhibitor for several dehydrogenase enzymes. It is a yellow pigment. The structure exhibits ...

, though it is tolerated by cows, and cannot be consumed by humans without processing. In order to make cottonseed oil fit for human consumption, it must be processed to remove the gossypol. In October 2018, the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...

approved for farming a

genetically modified Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including ...

version of cottonseed developed by Dr. Keerti Rathore of Texas A&M AgriLife Research that contains ultra-low amounts of gossypol in its seeds. The toxin remains present in other parts of the plant to protect against pests, but is not yet approved by the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

for human consumption.

Cottonseed oil

The refined seed oil extracted from the kernels can be used as a

cooking oil Cooking oil is plant, animal, or synthetic liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. It is also used in food preparation and flavoring not involving heat, such as salad dressings and bread dips, and may be called edible oil ...

or in salad dressings. It is also used in the production of

shortening Shortening is any fat that is a solid at room temperature and used to make crumbly pastry and other food products. Although butter is solid at room temperature and is frequently used in making pastry, the term ''shortening'' seldom refers to b ...

and margarine. Cotton grown for the extraction of cottonseed oil is one of major crops grown around the world for the production of oil, after soy, corn, and canola.

Fertilizer

The cottonseed meal after being dried can be used as a dry organic fertilizer, as it contains 41% protein. It can also be mixed with other natural fertilizers to improve its quality and use. Due to its natural nutrients, cottonseed meal improves soil's texture and helps retain moisture. It serves as a good source of natural fertilizers in dry areas due to its tendency of keeping the soil moist. Cottonseed meal and cottonseed

ashes Ashes may refer to: * Ash, the solid remnants of fires. Media and entertainment Art * ''Ashes'' (Munch), an 1894 painting by Edvard Munch Film * ''The Ashes'' (film), a 1965 Polish film by director Andrzej Wajda * ''Ashes'' (1922 film), ...

are also sometimes used to supplement organic hydroponic solutions. Cottonseed meal fertilizers can be used for roses,

camellias ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controver ...

, or vegetable gardens.

Cosmetics

The fine quality oil extracted from cottonseed during the extraction process is also used in cosmetics, such as moisturizing lotions and bath soaps.

References

External links

National Cottonseed Products Association
— the US organisation of cottonseed producers and processors
Benefits of Feeding Whole Cottonseed
* http://www.organic-gardening-for-life.com/cottonseed_meal.html * http://seeds-commerce.blogspot.ca/2004_12_01_archive.html
Cottonseed Oil in Global Trade
{{Authority control Cotton