Japanese Mountain Cotton Cultivation Trial: A Potential Catalyst
This project grows cold tolerant Japanese cotton varieties under Swiss conditions. Furthermore, the varieties are crossed, to allow a transgressive segregation for local cotton for Swiss natural-fibre textiles and supply-chain resilience.
Factsheet
- Schools involved School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences
-
Institute(s)
Cecchini Institute
Agriculture - Research unit(s) International Agriculture and Rural Development
- Funding organisation Innosuisse
- Duration (planned) 01.06.2026 - 30.11.2026
- Head of project Stefan Graf
-
Project staff
Stefan Graf
Noemi Hauser - Partner Virens Ingénieurs Sarl
- Keywords Sustainable production systems;Access to markets and value chains;Climate change mitigation and adaptation;Innovation and co-creation of knowledge;
Situation
Cotton is a key enabling fibre in textiles, but Switzerland depends on imported material for its indigenous fibres. This project grows putatively cold tolerant Japanese cotton varieties under Swiss conditions outdoors, in a greenhouse, and in a polytunnel, to assess the survival and fibre production of 3 imported varieties. The seeds, imported only in small quantities, will be reproduced for larger-scale trials. Furthermore, the plants will be crossed, to allow transgressive segregation in later stages, to develop varieties even better adapted to Swiss conditions. The ultimate goal is to build the basis for a more resilient, traceable and integrated Swiss natural-fibre system.
