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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Cotton Structure and Quality Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #207874
Title: How Biased Fineness and Maturity Changes Breeder Results

Author
item Montalvo Jr, Joseph
item von Hoven, Terri

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/1/2007
Publication Date: 6/15/2007
Citation: Montalvo Jr, J.G., Von Hoven, T.M. 2007. How Biased Fineness and Maturity Changes Breeder Results. National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference. CD ROM. p. 1302-1304.

Interpretive Summary: Fineness and maturity are important fiber properties. This is because yarns made with fiber of fine perimeters are stronger and mature fibers with the thicker cellulose wall absorb dye better. The micronaire of cotton is a measure of both properties and there are strong associations between the parameters. Advanced Fiber Information System (AFIS) fineness and maturity results on U.S. cottons are biased and there is a need to understand if the fundamental attributes, perimeter and wall thickness, are also in error. For this work, simulating biases in either fineness or maturity or both produced interesting results. Biased fineness and maturity may change wall thickness only, if the errors are the same, or both thickness and perimeter, if errors are different. As a rule of thumb, perimeter and thickness results should be acceptable to breeders if the bias in fineness and maturity does not exceed 10% in the same direction and about the same magnitude. The practical implication of this research is that inaccurate fiber quality information is being given to the producer and consumer. Advances in this area of work may lead to more accurate classing data, which could positively impact U.S. cotton consumption.

Technical Abstract: This research encompasses a set of 21 ATMI cottons, with different perimeter values, that was tested on both the Advanced Fiber Information Systems AFIS-2 and AFIS-PRO to determine fineness and maturity. High Volume Instruments (HVI) was used to measure micronaire. A lack of fit in fineness and maturity measurements to diagnostic models indicated a bias, when compared to Lord's micronaire model, which is responsible for the lack of fit. Image analysis is used to confirm the results. Breeders are interested in how bias can affect the fundamental attributes of fineness and maturity, and subsequently, decisions regarding development of varieties.