Cotton seeds are the seeds of the cotton plant. Cotton seeds are ovoid, 3.5-10 mm long. They are densely covered with white or rusty, long and woolly hairs, called the lint, which is the main product used to make cotton textiles, and shorter hairs (linters).
Commercially available cotton seeds are usually the by-product of the production of cotton fibre by a cotton gin, which separates the lint from the seeds. Consequently, seed production is dominated by factors determining the production of cotton fiber and the seed is about 15-20% of the value of the cotton crop (O'Brien et al., 2005). Depending on the species and variety, cotton lint has different colours (black, brown or red), and may be long and thin (Gossypium hirsutum, 90% of world production), longer and finer (Gossypium barbadense, also called Egyptian cotton) or shorter and thicker (Gossypium herbaceum and Gossypium arboretum)
