Effect of Mechanical Actions On Cotton Fiber Quality and Foreign-Matter Particle Attachment to Cotton Fibers

Abstract
To develop new and less damaging methods for removing foreign-matter particles from cotton fiber, the effects of various machine-fiber interactions during harvesting and ginning on fiber quality and attachment between foreign-matter particles and fibers were studied. In total, 75 samples were collected from five locations in a field near College Station, Texas, with three replications and five different harvesting and processing treatments: (1) hand-picked and hand-ginned, (2) machine-picked and hand-ginned, (3) machine-picked, seed cotton-cleaned, and hand-ginned, (4) machine-picked, seed cotton-cleaned, and machine-ginned, and (5) machine-picked, seed cotton-cleaned, machine-ginned, and one-stage lint-cleaned. A microscope was used to identify foreign-matter particles in each sample. Physical characteristics of the particles and their attachment to fibers were investigated and classified. All samples were analyzed with HVI and AFIS. Results showed that cotton fibers tended to adhere to foreign-particles by becoming restricted in cracks at fractured particle edges. Each machine-fiber interaction during the harvesting and ginning process tended to decrease the size of foreign-particles, increase the tightness of fiber-particle attachment, and increase the number of neps and short fiber content. Majority of the foreign-matter particles was leaves. However, the particle categories changed with stages of processing.