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ARS Home » Plains Area » Las Cruces, New Mexico » Cotton Ginning Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #198884
Title: FORMATION OF NEPS IN PIMA COTTON DURING MECHANICAL HARVESTING

Author
item FAULKNER, WILLIAM - TEXAS A&M UNVERISTY
item Whitelock, Derek
item Gamble, Gary
item SHAW, BRYAN - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Proceedings of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers International (ASABE)
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/26/2006
Publication Date: 7/26/2006
Citation: Faulkner, W.B., Whitelock, D.P., Gamble, G.R., Shaw, B.W. 2006. Formation of neps in pima cotton during mechanical harvesting. Proceedings of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers International (ASABE). Paper No. 061080.

Interpretive Summary: Neps are a major concern as American Pima cotton competes with other extra-long staple (ELS) cotton at the textile mills. A nep is defined as a tight knot-like mass of unorganized fibers. Research has showed that more than one-quarter of the total increase in nep counts from the field to the bale press occurs during harvesting of ELS cotton. Because the harvesting phase has been shown to be the primary anthropogenic source of neps in Pima cotton, a concerted effort was made to identify the relative impact of each step of the harvest process on nep formation with the goal of discovering ways to reduce the impact of harvesting on nep counts. Nep counts can best be reduced by first quantifying the sources of neps in the growing, harvesting, and ginning phases of production. Reducing the nep counts in American Pima cotton is an important step toward improving the United States' market share of ELS cotton.

Technical Abstract: Neps are a major concern as American Pima cotton competes with other extra-long staple (ELS) cotton at the textile mills. A nep is defined as a tight knot-like mass of unorganized fibers. Research has showed that 27% of the total increase in nep counts from the boll to the bale press occurs during spindle-harvesting of ELS cotton. The objective of this research was to determine the contribution of the spindle action and doffing action to nep counts in mechanically harvested Pima cotton. This paper details the background, and methods and procedures used for the research.