Structural analysis of Gossypium hirsutum fibers grown under greenhouse and hydroponic conditions

Cotton is the one of the world's most important crops. Like any other crop, cotton growth/development and fiber quality is highly dependent on environmental factors. Increasing global weather instability has been negatively impacting its economy. Cotton is a crop that exerts an intensive pressure over natural resources (land and water) and demands an overuse of pesticides. Thus, the search for alternative cotton culture methods that are pesticide-free (biocotton) and enable customized standard fiber quality should be encouraged. Here we describe a culture of Gossypium hirsutum ("Upland" Cotton) utilizing a greenhouse and hydroponics in which the fibers are morphological similar to conventional cultures and structurally fit into the classical two-phase cellulose I model with 4.19 nm crystalline domains surrounded by amorphous regions. These fibers exhibit a single crystalline form of cellulose I-I-beta, monoclinic unit cell. Fiber quality bulk analysis shows an improved length, strength, whiteness when compared with soil based cultures. Finally, we show that our fibers can be spun, used for production of non-woven fabrics and indigo-vat stained demonstrating its potential in industrial and commercial applications. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.