Potential Textile Testing Methodologies to Support the Development of a Performance Standard for Round Module Wrap.

The U.S. cotton industry has seen a rapid adoption of the on-the-go cotton harvester from John Deere that stores seed cotton in cylindrical (round) modules.  These modules rely on a plastic film wrap to maintain structural integrity and protect the cotton from the environment.  With the increased use of these modules there has also been increased reports of the plastic film entering the cotton process stream and reaching textile mills.  The patent for the module cover material is nearing expiration and there is concern that manufacturers could begin to offer generic module wrap that will not provide sufficient containment and protection of seed cotton and further increase the incidence of plastic contamination events.  This presentation will focus on textile tests that are under consideration to update ASABE Standard S615 "Cotton Module Cover Material Performance" to add performance criteria for round module wrap films.  The presentation will explain the rationale for why the test were selected and include some preliminary test data for material currently in use to examine the repeatability of the test methods.