Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Cotton Structure and Quality Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #139261
Title: GROWTH ENVIRONMENT ALTERS FIBER PROPERTIES, MOTES, NEPS AND WHITE SPECK FREQUENCY

Author
item Davidonis, Gayle
item LANDIVAR, JUAN - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
item FERNANDEZ, CARLOS - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Textile Research Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/10/2003
Publication Date: 11/1/2003
Citation: Davidonis, G.H., Landivar, J., Fernandez, C. 2003. Growth environment alters fiber properties, motes, neps and white speck frequency. Textile Research Journal. 73:960-964.

Interpretive Summary: In order to predict cotton product quality, it is essential to quantify inputs as variety, growth environment, harvest methods and post harvest processing. Neps are tangled masses of fiber that may contain immature fiber and non-fiber material. After the application of dyes, some neps remain undyed and are termed white specks. Current commercial fiber testing based on average fiber properties was not designed to quantify small amounts of immature fibers. Motes are underdeveloped seeds which during processing may be fractured and give rise to neps. Increases in motes did not increase nep or white speck frequency. Fiber maturity is related to the degree of circularity (theta) of a fiber. It was proposed that the distribution of theta values was important in the prediction of white speck frequency and that the percent of very mature fibers may be just as important as the percent of immature fibers. Further testing of this hypothesis could lead to the development of a tool that could be used to predict white speck frequency at the fiber level assisting the processors in end product decisions.

Technical Abstract: The impact of three planting dates in 1997 and 1999 on fiber properties, mote, neps and white specks was monitored. The prediction of textile quality depends on the quantification of pre harvest and post harvest inputs. Cotton was hand picked, ginned on a small laboratory gin and processed using a mini-spinning facility. The number of motes per g of seed cotton did not correspond to changes in nep or white speck frequency. Also, a decrease in the mean micronafis values (which corresponds to micronaire) did not correlate with increases in white speck frequency. The range of theta values was larger for 1999 cotton than for 1997 cotton. It is proposed that the distribution of theta values is important in the prediction of white speck potential and that the amount of very mature fibers may be just as important as the amount of immature fibers.