Estimating Fibers/Seed: Is Fineness Better Than Micronaire?

Cotton fineness (linear density) is a trait in high demand by spinners. They desire a yarn with more fibers per cross section to increase yarn strength. It is possible to breed for finer fibers but at the expense of yield. One possible breeding strategy to maintain yield, while achieving finer fibers is to increase the number of fibers/seed. However a reliable method of estimating fibers/seed is required. Traditionally this estimate is formulated by (weight of fiber/seed)/ (weight of one fiber). Five experiments over three years compared the relative merits of using HVI micronaire or FMT fineness for calculating the weight of one fiber. The application of these techniques in breeding programs will be discussed.