STICKY COTTON - CAUSES, IMPACTS AND PREVENTION

Authors: HEQUET, ERIC - INTL TEXTILE CTR TX; HENNEBERRY, THOMAS; NICHOLS, ROBERT - COTTON INC CARY NC

Submitted to: Agricultural Research Service Publication
Publication Type: Government Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/1/2005
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Cotton lint stickiness is the number one quality concern in the textile industry. The USDA-Agricultural Research Service took a leadership role in cooperation with Cotton Incorporated and the International Textile Center, Texas Tech University to develop a book of 15 chapters, by authors from many countries, that describe the history, sources of stickiness, detection quantification and descriptions of the problems encountered during cotton plant growth and all cotton lint processing stages.

Technical Abstract: Cotton has been called a miracle fiber, and cotton textiles where made in antiquity. As with other innovations, general acceptance of the cotton products resulted in the need for increased production, improved quality, and established product standards. Differences in color, strength, cleanliness and other fiber properties are variable and affected by crop genetics, environment and harvesting. Such properties in turn affect the efficiency of fiber processing, fabric aesthetics and buyer acceptance. Many contaminants may occur in the harvested raw product, and others may be introduced during the transportation from the field, storing, ginning, and mill processing. When contaminants accumulate on the moving parts of cotton processing machinery, adherence of contaminants and lint to processing equipment has been termed “stickiness” by the industry, and the contaminated lint is called "sticky cotton". The apparent problem has increased as cotton processing machinery has been refined, because high speed large volume of lint processing requires cleaner cotton. Sticky cotton is a world-wide problem. After extensive experience and research, sugar- containing excretions of certain insects, called honeydews, have been recognized as the most frequent cause of sticky cotton. Whiteflies and aphids feed in cotton tissues that transport plant sap containing sugars (mostly sucrose) that is utilized by the plant for growth and metabolism. The insects ingest and partially transform the sugars, then their excretions accumulate on plant parts, including the cotton fibers after the bolls are open. In the following text, the impacts of the sticky cotton problem on the industry are discussed, as well as the many potential sources of contaminants that can result in sticky cotton problems. The contributing authors identify and describe the major insect pest species, their biology, population development, and interactions with the cotton plant during its development. Management of the insect pests through effective use of cotton production inputs to prevent plant stress and reduce sweetpotato whitefly and aphid population development is an important control tactic. Other approaches include planting smooth-leaf varieties, limiting cotton production to a single fruiting cycle, timely harvests, and timely destruction of all crops that are hosts for honeydew producing insects from farm communities. Chemical control with selective insecticides that are environmentally safe can effectively manage honeydew-producing insects, and prevent population development that results in sticky cotton. Resistance to insecticides is a continuing threat and careful adherence to resistance management principles is highly recommended. Finally, although much progress has been made and some solutions have been provided to reduce the impact of sticky cotton, there is a continuing need for long term studies to keep abreast of a dynamic cotton industry.