Cotton harvesting is the process of gathering cotton fibers from the cotton plant, specifically from the Gossypium species. This typically occurs in late summer to early fall when the cotton bolls, which contain the fibers, have ripened and opened. Farmers use specialized machinery, such as cotton pickers or strippers, to efficiently collect the cotton from the fields. After harvesting, the cotton is transported to a gin, where it is cleaned and separated from seeds and debris. The resulting cotton fibers are then compressed into bales for storage and transportation, ready for processing into various products like clothing and textiles.