Cotton In Israel

Embracing The Challenge Of Top Qualities And An Ecological Approach

 

The Israel Cotton Board Ltd. (ICB) was established in 1956 as a cotton growers’ cooperative.

The company is the representative and marketing arm of all cotton growers in Israel.

 

All Israeli cotton is licensed BCI cotton, non GMO, roller ginned, 100% machine picked, mostly with on- board module pickers.

 

The Better Cotton Initiative exists to make global cotton production better for the people who produce it, better for the environment it grows in and better for the sector’s future.

The Israel Cotton Production and Marketing Board (ICB) shares BCI’s values and strives continuously to improve its performance in production, profitability and its interaction with the physical and human environment it serves.

 

ICB has a Classing Institute where 100% of cotton is classed by qualified and experienced cotton classers and tested for quality using Uster's state-of-the-art HVI (1000/1000), including testing of stickiness.

Unique Pima and hybrid varieties are locally bred with emphasis on lint quality and spinning needs.

 

Israel's growers focus on Extra Long Staple cotton (Pima) and Long Staple (Acalpi), achieving record breaking yields and world class qualities:

 

Variety	Length (HVI)	Mic. (HVI)	Strength (HVI)
Pima	37-38 mm	3.7-4.5	40-43 GPT
Acalpi	34-36 mm	3.4-4.2	34-37 GPT

 

 

 

 

For cotton growers in Israel sustainability is not a fad but a way of life and has been of utmost importance from the very beginning.

 

Israel is a semi desert country with an ongoing growing population and as such faces constant shortages of water. Thanks to harnessing advanced technologies for efficient water use, over 60% of urban waste water is recycled for agricultural use at large and particularly for cotton.  

 

Israeli companies have also developed the drip irrigation system which saves more than 50% of water consumption in agriculture – Israeli cotton is irrigated using this technique.

Further advanced and innovative technology utilization in Israel is precision irrigation. Plant water requirements are accurately determined by monitoring from the air, from the land and by using remote sensing and satellite imagery.

All these measurements enable cotton growers in Israel to minimize water use in cotton farming and maximize yields – which are the highest in the world for Extra long staple cottons.

 

Hand in hand with the recycled water, drip irrigation and smart use of water, ecologically friendly - Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is practiced by Israeli cotton growers and implemented in the field. Israeli growers have accomplished a 50% reduction in the use of chemicals treatments against pests and diseases in comparison to previously practiced standard pest control management methods.

 

Marketing – Israeli cotton is marketed throughout the world with the highly regarded and reliable international company Otto Stadtlander GmbH.

 

The Israel Cotton Board continues its tradition to be well reputed for its high quality cotton, high standards of production, precision of shipments, compliance with contracts and prestige for reliability.

 

For further information please contact us at: michal@cotton.co.il;Tel 972-9-9604003.

 

 

 

By Menahem Yogev, Israel Cotton Board Ltd

The cotton area in Israel is relatively small, however, only ELS cotton is produced. Plots devoted to cotton range in size from 20-350 hectares.  Farmers are very flexible in their ability to decide which crop to plant, hence the mixture of crops in fields usually varies from year to year, and total cotton area also fluctuates (Chart 1).

Chart 1:  Cotton Area  in Israel - '000 Hectares

 

The traditional strengths of the cotton production in Israel are:

 

• All cotton growers in Israel are organized under the "umbrella" of the Israel Cotton Production & Marketing Board (ICB). ICB undertakes responsibility to provide growers with all their required inputs, either directly or via service providers. These goods and services include planting seed of quality varieties, chemicals, fertilizers, picking, ginning, and the like, are usually supplied by the commercial sector.
• For cotton growers in Israel sustainability is not a fad, but a way of life that has been of utmost importance from the very beginning.
• Regular practices include crop rotations, plant monitoring and water saving, IPM-IRM pest control management, soil and land conservation, soil testing and nutrition control and general awareness of sustainable production and continuous improvement.
• All Israeli cotton is BCI licensed since 2015/16.
• Cotton fields are all drip irrigated using recycled water. Israel is located within a semi-arid region. Average annual precipitation, within the agricultural regions, is about 450 mm. The rainy season in Israel, lasts from October until February. During the cotton growing season- between March and September - usually there is no rain. As a result of the water supply constraints experienced in Israel, every drop is metered and water application is controlled and optimized. Farmers have adopted tools that assist them to optimize the amount of water applied to plants. Under the drip irrigation system the plant receives a water ration once every 2-3 days. The water quantity is determined according to different parameters used by farmers throughout the season.
• Joint R&D, managed by a committee includes researchers, consulters of the Minister of Agriculture, delegates of ICB and growers. Field experiments mostly carried out in farmer's fields.
• Implementation of pest control in Israeli cotton is strictly based on IPM IRM theory. Control strategy is based on the following principles which are realized in the field on a routine basis. Visual scouting by professional entomologists and pest control scouts, and only thereafter intervention according to economic threshold levels specific for each cotton pest. Cultural methods vary and include crop rotations, resistant cotton varieties, pheromone application, avoidance of chemical treatments at times of high beneficial insect levels and tillage regimes to preserve field sanitation.
• High level of professional growers, and of supporting services such as field consultants and extension, picking, ginning, etc.

 

 

The main issue is the understanding that uniting forces and collaboration lead to best results.

 

Quality Parameters 2016-2017:

 

Variety	Length (HVI)	MICRONAIRE	STRENGTH (HVI)
Israel Pima ELS	37-38 mm	3.5-4.5	39-43 GPT
Israel Acalpi LS	33-35 mm	3.4- 4.2	34-37 GPT

 

 

 

 

All cotton in Israel is: 100% machine picked by John Deere Baling Pickers, 100% roller ginned, 100% mechanized production 100% HVI testing and  100% testing for stickiness.

 

 

As of 2015, the Israel Cotton Board (ICB) is a member of the “Better Cotton Initiative” (BCI) and all cotton produced in Israel is certified as  BCI cotton, with all Israeli growers committed to the production of “Better Cotton”, according to BCI principles and criteria.

The avoidance of stickiness in cotton fibres is one of the issues that is highly emphasized by the production system. Farmers are using the IPM IRM policy to keep fields free of pest toward the end of season. Mesden CONTEST equipment is used in the classing institute to test all bales for stickiness. The result of all these efforts is that Israel is well known for non sticky cotton.

 

Israel cotton is – for the last 7 years - exclusively and successfully marketed by Otto Stadtlander GmbH, Germany and consumed by the best and leading spinning mills all over the world; in China, India and Far East as well as in Turkey, Europe and South America.