Give a brief description of cotton growth in India including its uses and climatic conditions.

(l) India is believed to be the original home of the cotton plant.
(ii) It is used as main raw material for cotton textile industry.
(iii) It grows well in drier parts of the black cotton soil of the Deccan plateau.
(iv) It requires high temperature, light rainfall or irrigation, 210 frost-free days and bright sunshine for its growth.
(v) It is a kharif crop and requires 6 to 8 months to mature.
(vi) It requires a lot of cheap and efficient labour at the time of plucking of cotton balls.
(vii) India is the third largest producer of cotton in the world after China and the United States of America.
(viii) The main cotton producing states are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.