Have you ever wondered, where does cotton come from?

Good afternoon! Today I want to talk a little about my personal experience with this particular plant, how it looks and tell you a little about my story around it.

To satisfy your curiosity, let me tell you that the cotton comes from a bush, it is not a very dense but a very interesting one, it is a difficult crop and it requires a large number of chemical herbicides and special conditions, which makes it a pretty option contaminant for those who want to sustain it under normal conditions.

Its seed is quite resistant and durable, so much so that it can remain in the ground for long periods of time waiting for the right time to germinate, for this factor, it is also considered by many as an invasive plant, since after bringing it to your zone and cultivate it, you will be witness of its incredible survival in spite of that you eliminate the cultivation and others; In other words, when you least expect it, they will grow up in your own garden.

It is common to find it in warm and humid areas, besides being extremely appetizing for all kinds of insects, especially ants. The plant blooms and the flowers are something that, I promise, you have probably never seen before; With light shades of yellow, red and white, it is a perfect attractant for hummingbirds and some species of large butterflies.

In the 80s, in Venezuela, some companies came to the area offering the impossible, exorbitant profits with little investment in exchange for allowing them to plant something they did not know; My grandfather in view of his economic situation, which was not the best, decides to accept through some family members that influenced his decision.

According to him, one of the worst decisions of his life, once the cotton was harvested, conditions began to emerge (very unfavorable) that did not exist before, the payments were very unfair, there were restrictions on the sale of the product in terms of quantities and to whom sell it, anyway ... the thing did not paint anything, but nothing good.

We paid the "price of cotton", leaving aside the commercial abuse and the economic consequences, the ecological cost was very high, since, for the fumigation of the crop we were forced to cut all the large trees that surrounded the area to apply pesticides by air (with a plane) and adding the fact that the seed brought with it many invasive weeds and many harmful insects, which did not exist in the region.

We call "mota" to that soft fibrous structure that is shown in the image. But, Hey! wait a second, not everything was bad, an illustrious Venezuelan once said:

In fact, to prove to you that these seeds are incredibly resistant over time, I tell you that the cultivation in the family farm was eliminated in 1983, and these plants were born in the backyard of the house in December of 2017.

My father decided to keep it because he says they are important to remember that turbulent past and because, given the poor economic conditions of the country, it never hurts to have a "matica" of cotton, who knows if at some point we need their white spots.

An important lesson for me and my family is that the price of learning and making bad decisions can sometimes be very high, however, you should always see the positive side because of all the experiences you learn something new. Do not worry about the big trees that were cut because my parents started a reforestation process that is almost 20 years old and is going from strength to strength.

Thank you very much for your time and I hope you liked it! If so, please remember to comment, vote and follow me for more material like this @josevbc .