Cotton Micronaire Measurements by a Small Portable near Infrared (NIR) Analyzer

Micronaire is a key quality and processing parameter for cotton fiber.  Much interest has been shown in small, portable instruments (e.g., Near Infrared or NIR) that have the potential to monitor cotton fiber micronaire both in the laboratory and in or near the field.  A new, small (fits in your hand) NIR spectrometer was evaluated for micronaire measurements in the laboratory (pre-field analyses).  The NIR measurement was fast (< 1 minute per sample) and easy to perform.  Distinct spectral differences with increasing micronaire were observed.  The initial micronaire results for the laboratory trials were very encouraging, with few outliers and low residuals.