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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 #216912
Title: FIAS Longitudinal Measurements Modified - More Accurate Cotton Fiber Maturity

Author
item Bel, Patricia
item XU, BUGAO - UNIV OF TEXAS AUSTIN
item YAO, X. - UNIV OF TEXAS AUSTIN

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/23/2008
Publication Date: 6/13/2008
Citation: Bel, P., Xu, B., Yao, X. 2008. Fias longitudinal measurements modified - more accurate cotton fiber maturity . National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference. p.1447-1448. 2008 CDROM.

Interpretive Summary: This paper will report the new developments of FIAS (Fiber Image Analysis System), which identifies the translucent fibers as immature and then follows the entire skeleton and identifies the whole fiber as immature. In the previous version of FIAS, the dark sections of the fiber were identified as mature (sometimes due to reversals and viewing the fiber’s twists on it’s side due to the convolutions), but a fiber’s maturity is generally consistent through the length of the fiber and the new version now corrects for that. Both Ribbon width and translucence are used to measure maturity. A projected 2-D image of a cotton fiber has large variations in fiber width due to the convolutions along the longitudinal axes. The ratio of the maximum width to the minimum width of a fiber ribbon is used as a maturity indicator. The translucence, as seen with a transmitting light microscope, is dictated by the thickness of the secondary cell wall and is also used as an indicator of maturity. The maturity data from both versions are compared to the levels of white specks in the dyed fabrics. FIAS has fast sample preparation and data processing and therefore has great potential to be regularly used for cotton maturity, especially for breeding programs.

Technical Abstract: A projected 2-D image of a cotton fiber has large variations in fiber width due to the convolutions along the longitudinal axes. The ratio of the maximum width to the minimum width of a fiber ribbon could be used as a maturity indicator. Another important factor related to cotton maturity is fibers translucence. The translucence, as seen with a transmitting light microscope, is dictated by the thickness of the secondary cell wall. This paper will report the new developments of FIAS (Fiber Image Analysis System), which identifies the translucent fibers as immature and then follows the entire skeleton and identifies the whole fiber as immature. In the previous version of FIAS, the dark sections of the fiber were identified as mature (sometimes due to reversals and viewing the fiber's twists on it's side due to the convolutions). Since a fiber's maturity is generally consistent through the length of the fiber, the FIAS program was modified and the new version now corrects for that. The maturity data from both versions are compared to the levels of white specks in the dyed fabrics. FIAS has fast sample preparation and data processing and therefore has great potential to be regularly used for cotton maturity, especially for breeding programs.