Author
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Brushwood, Donald |
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Submitted to: American Association Of Textile Chemists And Colorists Review
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 6/12/1997 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: The presence of silverleaf whiteflies in certain western growing areas of the United States has caused major production problems in the cotton industry. Stickiness from heavy deposits of whitefly residues (honeydew) can reduce processing production and efficiencies for all handlers of cotton lint. A large number of honeydew cotton from the 1995 harvesting season with varying degrees of contamination were characterized by measurement of stickiness, reducing sugar content, and individual carbohydrate levels by anion HPLC. Sugar contents as determined by HPLC and reducing sugar analysis were found to be very positively correlated. Stickiness potential as measured by the thermodetector also had a high correlation to reducing sugar. Silverleaf whitefly sugars (specifically the carbohydrates trehalulose and melezitose) directly influence the reducing sugar content and TD stickiness. Isolation and quantitating certain components of honeydew contaminated cotton by analytical and other methods and their relationships to other quality measurements of cotton is useful information to the textile industry for development of effective procedures for handling and processing these cottons. Technical Abstract: Honeydew contamination from insects have become a major problem in the worldwide production of cotton. In certain western regions of the United States, particularly in the last decade, stickiness on harvested cotton caused by the presence of the silverleaf whitefly has caused problems for growers, ginners, and textile processors. Whitefly sugars, unlike natural sugars are deposited randomly in heavy sticky specks on the surface of the lint. Honeydew has been found to contain specific sugars that are not present on normal non-insect contaminated cottons. Quantitative determinations of the individual sugar contents from a large number of whitefly contaminated cottons and their relationship to total reducing sugar measurements and stickiness as measured by the thermodetector are described. |
