A Review on Evolution of Cotton in Brazil: GM, White, and Colored Cultivars

Cotton is the main natural fiber grown all over the world. Despite the wide economic importance, cotton faces a strong competition with polyester and other synthetic fibers. This competition induced producers, industry, and scientists to seek for other competitive alternatives to minimize the heavy economic effect on the natural fiber market. As a result, the adoption of robust cultivars and technical management led to improvements in fiber productivity and quality. Brazil is currently a large exponent in cotton fiber production, able to meet the domestic demand and export the surplus. The white fiber market, supplied by conventional and GM cultivars, is the main segment of cotton in Brazil, but the naturally colored fibers have opened up the expectations to new opportunities for small farmers located at semiarid, which preferably adopt the organic or agroecological managements. This review brings information about cotton in Brazil, focusing on the current scenario of this natural fiber.