Saving a rare and ancient cotton variety

I have been looking for it for years, and just this week I walked into my friend's yard and there it was: the traditional Bagirmi cotton bush. You can see in the photos below that the leaves are smaller and more "fingery" than commercial cotton
 

and the fibers are more coarse.

 

It is the variety grown by this African tribe for millenia. It has now all but dissappeared, replaced by the cotton that colonialists introduced. But it shall survive! I have gathered the little pile of seeds pictured below and will plant them. Any tips on best practice to ensure good germination would be welcome.
 

Otherwise, well, it's as native as it gets.

Ooh, I really really wanted to try growing cotton in my garden. I'm spinning sheep wool and I could mix it with cotton. But there aren't any seeds available here, of producing varieties, just fancy ornamental plants.

As for growing, I think it needs plenty of sunshine and warm spot.

Is looks like a real old world cotton, nice, because they are diploid and don't cross with the (mostly gm) new world cotton.

Do you know if it is cultivated as a perennial locally?
Some G. arboreum ratoon cropped for two years, others are kept for many years even. Depends on the variety.

Usually seeds are soaked in sulfuric acid to remove the small hairs, but this is only needed for machine sowing, or at least sowing large quantities. Hairs were traditionally removed by mixing with clay or cow manure and rubbing.

Yes, it's grown as a perennial. This one was a bush about eight feet tall.

Do the fibers inhibit germination at all?

When I've purchased seeds of heirloom cotton varieties, they've been cotton-free, so when I later saved seed from some I'd grown, I picked all the cotton off the seeds, acting like a manual cotton gin. But then, I also wanted all that cotton to card and try spinning. I had such a small harvest that it was important to me to catch every little bit of fiber.

I've seen cotton which fell to the ground sprouting, looks like it doesen't inhibit germination.

Are you in a cotton growing area? In other words, are people still producing cotton where you are?

What is interesting with your cotton, is that it soaks better, therefore it is better appreciated for medical purposes.

hans muster wrote:I've seen cotton which fell to the ground sprouting, looks like it doesen't inhibit germination.

Are you in a cotton growing area? In other words, are people still producing cotton where you are?

What is interesting with your cotton, is that it soaks better, therefore it is better appreciated for medical purposes.

Yes Hans, people still grow cotton here, but not on a large scale. As a cash crop a large portion of the profits are lost to the fertilizers and pesticides that the cotton company loans the farmers. So they have largely abandonned it in favor of peanuts in my area.

What do you mean by "it soaks better?" I know locals macerate the leaves to treat anemia. What medicinal uses do you know of?

By medical use bandages/wound healing is meant.

I would ask a local on the local best practise to sow it, as sowing time differs between climatic zones and varieties.
For how long do you intent to stay there?

Peanut cotton intercropping is one interesting thing that was done in some areas, when the peanut is harvested the cotton takes over the place. Don't know if it is adapted to your conditions, but would be interesting.

hans muster wrote:By medical use bandages/wound healing is meant.

I would ask a local on the local best practise to sow it, as sowing time differs between climatic zones and varieties.
For how long do you intent to stay there?

Peanut cotton intercropping is one interesting thing that was done in some areas, when the peanut is harvested the cotton takes over the place. Don't know if it is adapted to your conditions, but would be interesting.

I live here so I plan on being around for awhile. Everything I do in polyculture, so I'm sure peanuts will make it around the cotton at some point! I think I will try to integrate the cotton into my exhisting food forest systems, along edges, perhaps under the very partial shade of moringa trees.

Maybe if you get a harvest, other people from different areas would be interested in getting seeds from you.  If people from a wide range of areas attempt to grow it, the is a better chance that it won't be nearly lost again.

If you get enough seed to share, it might be worth contacting seed banks to see if they can help you preserve the variety. Also, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds sends seed hunters all over the world, they might be interested in this variety.

The photos make it look like the cotton has kind of a silvery-gray color. Is that accurate, or just a trick of the lens? Because I think it's a beautiful color.