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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Cotton Structure and Quality Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #173207
Title: COTTON FIBER PROPERTIES AND MOISTURE: INFLUENCE OF VARIETY, AREA OF GROWTH, AND CROP YEAR

Author
item Rousselle, Marie
item Thibodeaux, Devron

Submitted to: Textile Research Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/9/2004
Publication Date: 9/30/2005
Citation: Rousselle, M.A., Thibodeaux, D.P. Cotton fiber properties and moisture: influence of variety, area of growth, and crop year. Textile Research Journal. 2005. v. 75(2). p. 177-1880.

Interpretive Summary: The price of a bale of cotton is determined partly by the length and strength of the fibers. Length and strength are measured at a standard relative humidity, since the properties are influenced by the moisture content of the fibers. The ease with which cotton can be spun into yarns in texile mills, and the quality of the yarns produced, is also affected by moisture content of the fibers. The moisture content of fibers at any humidity depends on whether the fibers were previously at a humidity that is higher or lower than the humidity used for testing and processing. Little is known about how fibers' response to moisture depends on the variety of the cotton, or the environmental conditions where it is grown. SRRC is participating in a multi-year study of selected varieties of cotton grown in Texas, Georgia, and Mississippi, to determine the suitability of new varieties for high-speed processing in textile mills. We have measured the moisture absorbed by cotton at 65% relative humidity, and the water retained by cotton fibers from that study after boiling, soaking, and centrifuging, and compared those values to various measurements of maturity. These data will help researches better understand how different varieties of cotton, grown in different areas, differ in moisture content of the fibers and in their performance modern textile mills.

Technical Abstract: Southern Regional Research Center (SRRC) is participating in a multi-year area-of-growth study of selectd cotton cultivars. We report here moisture data (water of imbibition and moisture regain) on cottons from the 2001 and 2002 crop years, and compare them to maturity properties and to micronaire.