Cotton Fiber Cell Wall Development for Three Cultivars: An FT-IR Examination

An examination of band development in Fourier transform-Infrared (FT-IR) spectra of developing cotton fibers (18 – 40 days post-anthesis) will be presented in this talk.  Two of the cultivars are from near isogenic lines, which exhibit significant differences in fiber strength and short fiber content. Furthermore, FT-IR spectra from a Gossypium hirsutum genetic standard line, Texas Marker-1, will also be presented. Discussion will center on spectral changes for three key regions, 1) the OH and CH stretch region, 2800-2700 cm^-1, 2) the OH bending region, 1800-1500 cm^-1, and 3) the fingerprint region with multiple C-O vibrations, 1250-850 cm^-1. A comparison of observed spectral changes to measured fiber quality measurements (e.g.; maturity ratio, micronaire, flat bundle strength) will also be presented.