Effect of Harvest Timing and Leaf Hairiness on Fiber Quality

Recent concerns over leaf grades have generated questions of how both time of day cotton is harvested, as well as leaf hairiness levels of certain varieties, influence fiber quality.  To address this, two smooth leaf varieties and two varieties with higher levels of leaf pubescence were harvested at two time periods in west Texas; early morning and mid-afternoon.  The early morning harvest conditions are thought to have higher humidity levels thus could create conditions which aren't conducive for optimal harvest, compared to the less humid, dryer conditions typically present later in the day.  Varieties with varying levels of leaf pubescence were evaluated to determine if there was any interaction between leaf pubescence and harvest timing, or if one of the two characteristics was more influential on fiber quality characteristics.