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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #263943
Title: Fiber length distributions and fiber quality

Author
item Foulk, Jonn
item Thibodeaux, Devron
item SENTER, HERMAN - Clemson University

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/30/2011
Publication Date: 6/4/2011
Citation: Foulk, J.A., Thibodeaux, D.P., Senter, H. 2011. Fiber length distributions and fiber quality. Proceedings of National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference. P. 1495-1502.

Interpretive Summary: AFIS cotton fiber length distributions have been evaluated by the Cotton Quality Research Station (CQRS) of the USDA-ARS. Six promising cotton varieties were grown in 6 Georgia counties and ginned at the University of Georgia’s MicroGin. CQRS performed HVI, AFIS, and spinning efficiency measurements on the cotton. The objective was to evaluate differences in the shape of histograms between counties, varieties, and processing. Fiber length decreases through processing but the 6 varieties tend to maintain their relative positions in processing. Cotton fiber length distribution within plant varieties indicate that PHY375 has a consistent length distribution regardless of its growing location while ST5458 appears to have more variability dependent upon growing location.

Technical Abstract: Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is grown in Georgia on ~1 million acres by producers as a raw material input for textile mills. Georgia cotton fiber qualities continue to improve through crop management, genetic, and ginning improvements. Competition from synthetic fibers, mill modernization, and global market competition have increased the demand for improved fiber quality, while changes in the textile industry and fiber measurement technology have resulted in a steady improvement in cotton fiber quality. In order to determine a superior fiber variety in Georgia, six promising cotton varieties were grown in 6 Georgia counties and ginned at the University of Georgia’s MicroGin. Ginned lint fiber properties were evaluated and spun at the USDA-ARS Cotton Quality Research Station pilot plant. The Advanced Fiber Information System (AFIS) analyzes cotton fiber length distributions because variations in fiber length distribution impacts spinning performance. The goal was to evaluate the entire AFIS fiber length distribution so distributions were evaluated rather than mean values. The objective was to evaluate differences in the shape of histograms between counties, varieties, and processing. Histograms and fiber length decreases through processing but the six varieties tend to maintain their relative positions in processing. Cotton fiber length distribution within plant varieties indicate that PHY375 has a consistent length distribution regardless of its growing location while ST5458 appears to have more variability dependent upon growing location. The distributions within counties appear to follow the same shapes but there appears to be significant differences between cotton fiber length distributions in counties. This shape discrepancy within counties could be due to harvesting equipment differences between locations or ginning differences.