Evidence indicates that cotton was first grown in California in small plots on Spanish mission lands.

Later cotton culture was tried, generally unsuccessfully, in the central valleys by immigrants who had turned to farming after failures at gold prospecting. With the development of irrigation in the Imperial Valley in the early 1900's cotton culture first became commercially successful in California in that area. Peak production came in 1920 but pests and economics reduced production in the southern valleys until cotton culture was abandoned by 1930. In 1951 the lower valleys returned to cotton production with the growing of Acala 4-42. By 1957 growers in this area had switched to Deltapine varieties.

After abandoning cotton culture in the central valleys in the 1880's cotton returned to the San Joaquin Valley in 1909. Although Gossypium hirsutum Upland varieties were tried most of the interest was in G. barbadense American-Egyptian varieties. This interest was particularly intensified during World War I due to the increased demand for these high strength varieties. After the war, demand for the American-Egyptian cottons dropped and growers attention turned to the higher yielding Upland varieties. It was at this time that Acala cotton came on the scene in California.