Cotton, Fabric of Our Lives

Cotton Pollinator Connectivity Workshop was held at Penn State University at State College February 16. It has been shown that increasing the diversity of pollinator species can dramatically increase cotton production. Researchers at University of Texas in Austin estimate that in South Texas, increasing the diversity of pollinators could boost cotton production by up to 18 percent, yielding an increase in annual revenue of more than $1.1 million. Collaborative efforts among the Lopez-Uribe Lab at Penn State, Jha Alb at University of Texas and Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture at University of São Paulo, Brazil are investigating the effects of pollinator diversity on cotton yields in Brazil and south Texas.