The effect of seed cotton moisture during harvesting on: Part 2 yarn and fabric quality

Abstract

This study examined the fiber quality of saw ginned Upland cotton, harvested from one field using a John Deere (JD) 7760 at three moisture levels, <12%, >12% and 14%, and storing the harvested modules for 12 weeks prior to ginning. There was a significant difference between the three moisture levels for fiber color, with seed cotton harvested at >12% and 14% resulting in fiber that was yellower, with lower reflectance and a color grade of 52, as compared to a 51 grade for seed cotton harvested at <12% moisture. The seed cotton harvested at >12% and 14% contained more trash with a leaf grade of 3, compared to a leaf grade of 2 for the seed cotton harvested at <12%. There was no significant difference between the three moisture levels in terms of fiber length and strength, but fiber micronaire was higher for the seed cotton harvested at >12% and 14% moisture content. There was no significant difference between the moisture levels for total nep count, but the seed cotton harvested at >12% had larger neps and more seed coat neps than the seed cotton harvested at <12% and 14%. In the second part of this study the fiber was spun into fine count yarns on a miniature spinning system to assess the impact on textile processing in terms of yarn and fabric quality and processing performance. The study found that the card waste for the lower moisture content harvested fiber was less than the card waste for higher moisture content harvested fiber. In terms of yarn and fabric quality, the statistically significant differences observed in fiber quality did not translate into statistically significant differences in yarn or fabric quality at any moisture content level. Surprisingly, the statistically significant differences in fiber color did not affect the color and appearance of the knitted dyed fabrics.