Evaluating Within‐Plant Variability of Cotton Fiber Length and Maturity

Abstract

A gronomy J our n al • Volume 110 , I ssue 1 • 2 018 47 D uring the past two decades, international demand for high cotton fi ber quality has increased because of the dominance of ring-spun yarn production. We hypothesized that minimizing the variability of cotton fi ber quality among fi bers within-bale could contribute to better spinning performance and yarn quality resulting in a better end-product with a lower cost of production. Th e variability in physical attributes among cotton fi bers within a bale has been shown to aff ect textile manufacturing effi ciency and the quality of the fi nished textile products (Smith and Cothren, 1999;Krifa, 2012). Cotton fi ber quality is naturally variable within a single seed, within a single boll, within the plant, and within the fi eld. Th ese sources of variability in fi ber quality contribute to within-bale fi ber-to-fi ber variability. One of the potential strategies to minimize the variability of fi ber quality among fi bers within a bale of cotton is to optimize the within-plant variability of cotton fi ber quality.Within-plant variability of cotton fi ber quality is determined by many factors, including the growth habit of the cotton plant, genetics, and environmental conditions during cotton fi ber development (Stewart, 1975;Faulkner et al., 2011;Kothari et al., 2015). Th e indeterminate fruiting habit of the cotton plant provides a signifi cant source of within-plant variation in cotton fi ber quality. American upland cotton is a highly indeterminate, perennial plant, which is grown in an annual cropping system (Lewis, 2002;Oosterhuis and Cothren, 2012). Cotton plants set fl owers in a predictable pattern. Along the main axis, the setting of fl owers occurs at the same fruiting position in 3-d intervals. Bolls set at each position along a single fruiting branch are set approximately 6 d apart (McClelland, 1916;Lewis, 2002). Th ree days aft er the fi rst fl ower sets in position one, the fi rst position boll on the next vertical node sets (Meredith and Bridge, 1973). Th is pattern is used for estimating relative diff erences in boll ages (Baker and Baker, 2010).Cotton plants set the fi rst position bolls at the bottom parts of the plants early in the season compared to bolls setting at the apical and distal positions. Bolls sets in the lower half of the plant and fi rst fruiting position bolls have more time and resources to develop mature fi bers. ABSTRACTPrevious studies have indicated diff erences in fi ber quality parameters including fi ber length and maturity within the canopy of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L) plants. A 3-yr study was conducted to investigate the impact of within-plant variability on fi ber length and maturity of upland cotton cultivars widely grown on the High Plains of Texas. Twelve upland cotton cultivars were grown in a randomized complete block design with three fi eld replications, in Lubbock, TX, during the 2012, 2013, and 2014 growing seasons. A box-picking harvesting method was used to individualize samples so that the within-plan...

Impacts of Verticillium Wilt on Photosynthesis Rate, Lint Production, and Fiber Quality of Greenhouse-Grown Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum)

“…Previous studies indicated that immature fibers break during processing [30][31][32][33]. In this study, it appears that the effect of Verticillium wilt results in poor development of secondary cell walls, rendering them weak and with a propensity to break during mechanical processing and create higher short fiber content.…”

Effects of non-lint material on heritability estimates of cotton fiber length parameters

“…Seedcotton was hand-picked from each boll in order to obtain F 1 seed. The seed cotton was ginned with a laboratory-scale roller gin (Dennis Manufacturer, Athens, TX), delinted with a research mechanical delinter at Texas A&M AgriLife Research & Extension Center, Lubbock TX, and planted by hand at the Texas Tech University research farm in Lubbock, Texas, on a loam soil with drip irrigation and following the recommendation for irrigated cotton production in the region (Ayele et al 2018). A total of 75 F 1 seeds for each of the nine crosses were planted in unreplicated 7.6-m long plots.…”

“…2). The seeds were planted on a loam soil with drip irrigation and following the recommendation for irrigated cotton production in the region (Ayele et al 2018). During the experiment, the accumulated rainfall was 272 mm and growing degree days (GDD 15.6 ) were 1308 units (Snowden et al 2013).…”

Responses of Upland Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) Lines to Irrigated and Rainfed Conditions of Texas High Plains

“…Wang, et al, 2016, [ 12 ] observed when soil moisture decreased from approximately 60 to 45% of field capacity, yield reduction was doubled (from approximately 30 to 60%), and fiber quality, particularly fiber length and strength, was reduced. Periodic drought also increased within-plant variability of fiber maturity and fiber length of upland cotton cultivars, being more pronounced when boll setting was in the higher fruiting branches [ 13 ].…”