Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Mississippi State, Mississippi » Crop Science Research Laboratory » Genetics and Sustainable Agriculture Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #77758
Title: CALORIC ANALYSIS OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF ENERGY IN RIPENED COTTON

Author
item Hedin, Paul
item McCarty, Jack
item Jenkins, Johnie

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/5/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Efforts have been made using weights to measure the apportionment by the cotton plant to lint and seed as compared to vegetative tissues to assay its efficiency. Now, caloric analyses of the distribution of energy were carried out at 40, 101, 115 and after ripening (130 days). Plants were harvested, dried, weighed, and subsequently analyzed for protein, crude fat, lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, nitrogen free solubles, and total gossypol by standard AOAC methods. In ripened cotton, approximately twice as much caloric energy was apportioned to seed in comparison with lint. Higher lint production might be achieved with a concomitant decrease in seed production, perhaps as the result of some genetic strategy.

Technical Abstract: Caloric analyses of the distribution of energy were carried out for Suregrow 125 and DPL-50 cotton plants 40, 101, and 115 days after emergence and for ripened cotton. For these analyses, plants were harvested, dried, weighed, and subsequently they were analyzed for protein, crude fat, lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, nitrogen-free solubles, and total gossypol by standard AOAC methods. In ripened cotton, approximately twice as much caloric energy was apportioned to seed in comparison with lint. About half of the caloric content was constituted in lint and seed, the remainder apportioned to vegetative tissue. With 40 day plants, the content of nitrogen-free solubles was high and decreased steadily through the 101st and 115th days with a concominant increase in cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Higher lint production might be achieved with a concominant decrease in seed production, perhaps as the result of some genetic strategy.