Relationships of Ginning Energy, Ginning Rate and Fiber Quality In Upland Cotton

Relationships of Ginning Energy, ginning Rate and Fiber Quality in Upland Cotton

Efrem Bechere¹, J.C. Boykin²

Abstract

Cotton genotypes that gin faster and with less energy gin more gently with less stress in the fiber and less damage. The objective of this research was to study if ginning energy and ginning rate affect the fiber qualities of Upland cotton genotypes. Thirty four conventional and twelve transgenic genotypes were evaluated in 2008 and 2009. The experiment was conducted at two sites near Stoneville, MS for both 2008 and 2009. Field plots were one row 12.2 m in length and 1.0 m between rows. Ginning energy and ginning rate were measured with a power meter attached to a 10-saw laboratory gin stand. High Volume Instrument (HVI) quality analyses was performed at STARLAB INC., at Knoxville, TN and Advanced Fiber Information System (AFIS) analyses was performed at USDA Crop genetics Lab. at Stoneville. Statistical analyses were performed using Proc GLM of the SAS system. Genotypic variances were high and significant for net energy, fiber strength and length, nep size and nep count, short fiber content and fineness. Genotypes that ginned faster and required less net energy to gin had in general lower nep size, nep count, and shorter fiber content when compared to genotypes that require higher net energy and ginned slower. These differences however, were not statistically significant. Slow ginners (when energy level is not taken into consideration) in general had lower fiber strength, fiber length but higher short fiber content and fineness when compared to the fast ginners as a group. There appeared to be no effect of ginning energy and ginning rate on maturity ratio.

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¹ARS-USDA, Crop Genetics Research Unit, Stoneville, MS.

²ARS-USDA, Cotton Ginning Research Unit, Stoneville, MS.