1.   Sharaf Rashidov, the former party boss, would lie about the cotton crop year after year to ingratiate himself with Moscow.

2.   Texas produced half of the US cotton crop.

3.   The impact of these problems on the cotton crop looks to be severe.

4.   When the cotton crop failed or when prices dropped because it was too abundant, blacks almost literally starved.

5.   Beginning in May, the cotton crop was attacked by beet army worms, a pest that typically preys on fruit and vegetables but also can devastate cotton.

6.   A big cotton crop this year will be necessary to meet a rising global appetite for U.S. cotton.

7.   A similar portion of the cotton crop relies on biotech seeds, while just under a quarter of American corn is genetically engineered.

8.   A smaller cotton crop in India could give a modest boost to U.S. cotton exports, a U.S. agriculture counselor said.

9.   Ag planes are used extensively at this time of year to defoliate cotton crops and prepare fields for wheat planting.

10.   But if the wheat is doomed and can be removed promptly, a cotton crop could be planted within the normal planting window for cotton.