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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stoneville, Mississippi » Cotton Ginning Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #75305
Title: PROCESSING COTTON CULTIVARS WITH CONVENTIONAL GIN MACHINERY

Author
item Anthony, William
item CALHOUN, D - DELTA RESEARCH & EXT CTR

Submitted to: Applied Engineering in Agriculture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/20/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: As consumer requirements and textile machinery change, quality characteristics of cotton must also change. New varieties are being developed to meet the changing needs of the international cotton industry; however, much of the developmental research is conducted in laboratory-type gins that do not adequately reflect conventional gin processing machinery. The impact of commercial gin machinery on cotton varieties currently available was investigated using over 50 different varieties. Results indicated that major discrepancies existed for some measured attributes such as the amount of lint obtained per unit of seed cotton, fiber entanglements (neps) and short fibers. Geneticists can use the information to selectively improve cotton varieties to minimize quality problems and thus make U.S. cotton more competitive in world markets.

Technical Abstract: Cleaning, drying and ginning cotton cultivars on conventional ginning equipment produces commercially useful information for comparative purposes. Evaluation of numerous cultivars grown in Mississippi in two years on different soil types indicated substantial differences between the cultivars in terms of monetary returns to the farmer and fiber properties important to the textile industry. In 1994, gross monetary returns ranged from about $567.50 to $1477.50 per hectare ($227 to $591 per acre); classers' color was generally Middling grade but leaf ranged from 1.3 to 3.3; the number of neps ranged from 190 to 396 per gram of lint; seed-coat fragments ranged from 34 to 120 per 3 g of lint; and short fiber content by weight ranged from 4.9% to 12.5%. Similar results occurred in 1993, unfortunately, the "best" characteristics were not all present in the cultivars that yielded the highest monetary return. These results show the epotential for improving cotton fiber quality parameters but care must be exercised to ensure that all growth conditions are considered.