Jonn A. Foulk, USDA-ARS, Ravenel Center Rm 10, McGregor Road, Clemson, SC 29634, Gary R. Gamble, USDA-ARS, Cotton Quality Research Station, P.O. Box 792, Clemson, SC 29633, Herman Senter, Clemson University, Department of Mathematical Sciences, O-106 Martin Hall, Clemson, SC 29634-0975, and William R. Meredith, USDA-ARS Crop Genetics & Production Research Unit, P.O. Box 314, Stoneville, MS 38776.
In 2005, there were 22,638,247 upland cotton bales classed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) American Marketing Service (AMS). USDA-AMS uses the High Volume Instrument (HVI) to class all bales for fiber length, length uniformity, micronaire, strength, color (Rd and +b), trash, and leaf grade. Industry uses these results as well as fiber quality measurements obtained from a slower piece of testing equipment called the Advanced Fiber Information System (AFIS). The Cotton Quality Research Station (CQRS) of the USDA-ARS, located in Clemson, SC, has completed a comprehensive study of the relationship of cotton fiber properties to the quality of spun yarn. Cotton was grown and harvested from three of the largest producing growing regions (Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas) and subsequently ginned at their respective locations. A portion of the study evaluated HVI and AFIS fiber qualities and their impact on yarn using modern, high speed processing equipment. Cotton was spun into yarn at the CQRS laboratory by each of three spinning methods (ring, vortex and rotor spinning) with characteristics of the yarn and spinning measured. A previous manuscript detailed descriptive statistics and distributions for the fiber and yarn. This manuscript explores the common fiber quality measurements obtained from the HVI and AFIS and how well they help predict yarn quality and processing efficiencies.