Evaluating the Impact of Within-Plant Variability of Fiber Length Distribution on Yarn Quality of Upland Cotton Cultivars

Natural variation in cotton fiber quality may contribute to variations in yarn quality. A set of 12 upland cotton cultivars were grown in a randomized complete block design with 3 field replications, in Lubbock, Texas during 2012, 2013, and 2014 growing seasons to investigate the effect of within-plant variability of the fiber length distribution on yarn quality. Accordingly, a box-picking harvesting method was used to capture variation in the fiber length distribution across the fruiting branches of the cotton plant. Sample collected at different fruiting positions in the plant were tested separately on the Advanced Fiber Information System (AFIS) with three replications of 3,000 fibers. The AFIS length distribution was then used to characterize the total variation in fiber length produced at a fruiting location within the plant. Cultivars showed significant differences in within-plant fiber length distributions. Similarly, the results of yarn quality test indicated that cultivars were significantly different for ring spun yarn quality. It appears that the differences observed in within-plant fiber length distributions may have a potential impact on yarn quality.