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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stoneville, Mississippi » Crop Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #318205
Title: Relationships of lint yield and fiber quality with ginning rate and net ginning energy in upland cotton

Author
item Bechere, Efrem
item Zeng, Linghe
item Hardin Iv, Robert

Submitted to: Journal of Cotton Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/2/2015
Publication Date: 1/10/2016
Citation: Bechere, E., Zeng, L., Hardin IV, R.G. 2016. Relationships of lint yield and fiber quality with ginning rate and net ginning energy in upland cotton. Journal of Cotton Science. 20:31-39.

Interpretive Summary: Cotton producers and ginners both benefit from decreased ginning costs. Reducing the strength of the cotton fiber’s attachment to the seed is one way to reduce the time required to gin the cotton (ginning rate) and the energy needed to run the gin (net ginning energy). There are genetic differences among cotton varieties for ginning rate and net ginning energy, but often changing one trait will affect other traits. This study compared 13 cotton genotypes to evaluate changes in ginning rate and net ginning energy associated with cotton yield, fiber quality traits, leaf shape, seed fuzziness, and presence of leaf nectaries. The study identified cotton lines with high ginning rates and low net ginning energy that also had high yield and good fiber. Lines with more fuzz on the seed required more energy to gin. These results showed that it should be possible to develop high yield and good fiber quality lines that are less costly to gin.

Technical Abstract: The use of cultivars that gin faster and require lower net ginning energy have been suggested to improve ginning efficiency. The objectives of this study were to investigate the relationships of lint yield and fiber quality with ginning rate and net ginning energy and also determine the effects of semi-naked seed, fuzzy seed, okra leaf, and the presence or absence of nectaries on ginning rate and net ginning energy. Thirteen cotton genotypes were evaluated in a randomized complete block design with four replications for ginning rate, net ginning energy, fuzz percent, lint yield and fiber quality at Stoneville, MS across four environments during 2013 and 2014. Ginning rate was positively related to lint yield (0.27***), fiber strength (0.22**), and fiber length (0.41***). Ginning rate, however, was negatively correlated with net ginning energy (-0.28***) fuzz percent (-0.06), and micronaire (-0.38***). Higher lint yield appeared to be associated with higher net ginning energy. Net ginning energy was positively correlated with fiber length (0.26***), fiber strength (0.23***) and fuzz percent (0.50***). The okra leaf group had higher ginning rate than the normal leaf group (P<0.05). The semi-naked seed group had higher ginning rate than the fuzzy group (P<0.05). The fuzzy seeded group required higher net energy to gin. Cotton breeders should consider these relationships before embarking on a program to improve ginning efficiency.