In the cotton-producing countries of the northern hemisphere, the planting of cotton starts now. Under ideal conditions, it takes less than a week for the plant to show its first shoot. Depending on the variety, the plant grows for 180-300 days until the ripe cotton bolls are ready to harvest.

Many farmers hope for better weather conditions in the coming season than in the previous one, when drought, rain and storms in many regions affected the crop. Current estimates assume a production of more than 27 million tons of cotton in the coming season.

Picture: Bishnu Sarangi/Pixabay