Estimating the Marketability of West Texas Cotton Using ‘Acala Quality' Standards

The standard for quality among upland cotton fibers are the Acala varieties grown in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) of California. SJV Acala properties are the longest, strongest, and finest of the upland cotton grown in the U.S. Recently the HVI properties of west Texas cotton have dramatically improved, yet the west Texas growing region is geographically large with climate variations. Due to these factors a small percentage of west Texas cotton will meet ‘Acala Quality,’ the challenge is to identify and assemble this percentage of cotton for marketing. The objective of this study is to use a neural network on HVI properties from the Lubbock and Lamesa USDA classing offices to identify cotton which meet the ‘Acala Quality Standards.’