1.10.3.6. Cotton Cotton occupies about 7.5 Mha in India. Maharashtra (36 per cent), Gujarat (21 per cent), Karnataka (13 per cent), and Madhya Pradesh (9 per cent) are the leading states which together grow cotton over an area of about 6 Mha. Other cotton growing states are Punjab (5 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (4 per cent), Tami Nadu (4 per cent), Haryana (3 per cent), and Rajasthan (3 per cent). Most of the cotton-growing areas in the country are in the high to medium rainfall zones.
Cotton requires a well-drained soil. It is grown as a rainfed crop in the black cotton and medium black soils and as an irrigated crop in alluvial soils. The sowing season varies from region to region and starts early (April-May) in north India.
