Parthi

Parthi

The Kodava word “Parthi” is referred cotton.

About

Parthi is a soft, light weight, white fibrous material obtained from cotton plant/tree. The seeds are round/long shape and once the seed becomes dry the soft fabric from the seed is taken out and is used in preparing thread. They are spun, so that individual thread can be used in making soft flexible material. Cotton plants are cultivated in the area with lot of sunshine, moderate rainfall and frost free. Other than white colour, cottons can also be cultivated in natural colours like red, green, brown, pink etc., They are harvested with the help of a machine called cotton picker which removes cotton from boll; there are few countries where they pick cotton from hand. There are three types of Cotton fibres – One is Gossypium hirsutum which is found in about 90% of the world, second one is Gossypium barbadense which is chiefly grown in California and is also called by the name ELS (Extra Long Staple Cotton), third one is Gossypium arboretum usually called as tree cotton and is found in India and Pakistan and the fourth one is Gossypium herbaceum usually called as Levant Cotton, native of Africa and Arabia.

Uses

Cottons are widely used in the manufacture of textiles some of them include – towels, jeans, socks, fishing nets, tents, Bed sheets, T- shirts, etc., The fabrics can range from light weight to heavy cloth material. The fabrics made from cotton are usually washable, can be ironed at high temperature, absorbs moisture and extremely durable. China is the largest cotton producing country in the world.