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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 #282963
Title: Use of NIR technique to validate the relationship between two cotton trash measurements: geometric vs. gravimetric method

Author
item Liu, Yongliang
item Thibodeaux, Devron
item Gamble, Gary
item Rodgers Iii, James

Submitted to: ASABE Annual International Meeting
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/24/2012
Publication Date: 8/2/2012
Citation: Liu, Y., Thibodeaux, D.P., Gamble, G.R., Rodgers III, J.E. 2012. Use of NIR technique to validate the relationship between two cotton trash measurements: geometric vs. gravimetric method. ASABE Annual International Meeting. Paper No. 12133844511.

Interpretive Summary: Occurrence of trash in commercial cotton bales at varying amounts degrades their market values and further influences the end-use qualities. In order to ensure a fair trading, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has introduced the high volume instrument (HVI) measurement as an universal standard index. Compare to HVI’s geometric method that represents the trash portion only on a sample’s surface, gravimetric-based Shirley Analyzer (SA) has also been routinely utilized to yield the trash contents in cotton industry. With the increasing acceptance of HVI readings in the domestic and international trading, there is a continued interest in the relationship between HVI trash and SA trash from cotton customers, regulatory and trade organizations. Due to the complexity of not only trash type, size, and presence but also the nature of HVI and SA tests, apparently trying to bridge two types of trash readings (geometric vs. gravimetric method) is a great challenge. Further, with the suggestion from Dr. James Knowlton of AMS, who talked his latest foreign trip to promote the HVI and mentioned one concern on HVI trash during the 2011 Beltwide Cotton Conference, we voluntarily performed this study by analyzing the data collected over a 4-year span at the house. As a result of innovative concept, we not only proposed the conversion between HVI and SA trash from the simple statistic approach, but also confirmed this observation from independent NIR measurement. The outcome provides cotton fiber / textile engineers, researchers, ginners, and regulators a new way in understanding HVI and SA trash.

Technical Abstract: Presence of trash in commercial cotton bales compromises their market values and further influences the end-use qualities. In order to ensure a fair trading, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has implemented the high volume instrument (HVI) readings as the universal quality indices to grade the cottons. Compare to HVI’s geometric method that represents the trash portion only on a sample’s surface, traditional Shirley Analyzer (SA) is a gravimetric-based method and is being routinely utilized in the laboratories. With the increasing acceptance of HVI readings in domestic and international trading, there is a continued interest in understanding the conversion constant between two trash testing results from the customers, regulatory and trading organizations. Due to the complexity of trash type and size and also the nature of HVI and SA measurement, apparently bridging the two types of trash readings is a great challenge. This investigation addressed the need by proposing an innovative approach to establish the conversion constant, through sub-grouping the samples and then verifying the findings from independent NIR technique.