This is where Cotton Incorporated's agriculture, fiber quality and textile research initiatives can have the most direct payoff to producers and textile manufacturers. The No. 1 priority of Cotton Incorporated's agricultural research effort is to find ways to help producers lower their cost of producing a pound of cotton while improving the quality of the product delivered to their customers. They are supporting such initiatives as self-defoliating cotton and increased tolerance of temperature extremes for cotton. Studies of new production and precision-agriculture technology are underway. One key element of agriculture research is the State Support Program, which returns grower assessments for support of state and regionally important projects.
Pest management is one of the most expensive and variable costs of cotton production.
Some of the most popular products brought to market in recent years wrinkle resistant trousers, shirts and blouses is the result of fiber quality research conducted by Cotton Incorporated's Textile Services Laboratory. Development of a new cotton yarn is targeted for the high-end residential floor covering market. Additional work at Cotton Incorporated's research center addresses fabric development, dyeing and finishing and textile chemistry. The Cotton Research and Promotion Program began as a voluntary program in the mid-60s, when cotton's market share was being taken by synthetics. Now, more than 30 years later, the U.S. cotton industry is being battered again by low-priced synthetic competition, reduced exports and falling prices.