ARS | Publication request: White Specks Measured by Autorate and the Relationship to AFIS Fiber Data

Submitted to: Journal of Cotton Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: March 15, 2011
Publication Date: July 1, 2011
Citation: Bel, P., Xu, B. 2011. White specks measured by autorate and the relationship to AFIS fiber data. Journal of Cotton Science. 11(4):59-65.

Interpretive Summary: Industry doesn’t currently have a good means of predicting white specks in dyed fabrics. Not knowing the level of the white specks can cause large financial loses. The mill expects that processing the cotton should be a value adding process, but if white specks appear in the fabrics after dyeing, the fabrics are extremely devalued. This research addresses the problem of predicting white specks in dyed cotton fabrics using a high-speed fiber measurement system on bale fibers. The cottons are processed identically in the mill to dyed fabric and evaluated using the recent release of Autorate (AAR-5-05, May 2005) was developed to measure white specks on dark fabrics in conjunction with this research, and removes operator input. These results are compared to the white specks measured by AR-2-03 (with operator input) and compared to the fiber data generated by several versions of AFIS including AFIS PRO. AFIS PRO data is evaluated at different stages in the mill. The information gathered has helped set a long term protocol for white speck processing research at the Southern Regional Research Center and is the beginning of a large data base which will include international cottons to develop the final WSP (White Speck Potential) equations. This information will be useful to as a tool to measure the effects of field and ginning practices on the levels of white specks without having to carry the research out to finished fabrics. Cotton breeders will be able to use the equations in the development of new varieties with low white speck potential, by eliminating varieties with high white speck potential early on.

Technical Abstract: This research addresses the problem of predicting white specks in dyed cotton fabrics. The main objective is to predict fabric quality from bale fiber properties given controlled mill processing. Mill processing must be controlled because past studies show mechanical processing differences affect white speck levels. The fabrics made from the US 2001 ATMI (American Textile Manufacturers Institute) Cotton Variety Processing Trials were spun at CQRS on full scale equipment in bale quantities and analyzed using Autorate-2-03 (AR-2-03), to develop the initial prediction equations using fiber data from high-speed measurement systems. The recent release of Autorate (AAR-5-05, May 2005) was developed to measure white specks on dark fabrics in conjunction with this research, and removes operator input. These results will be compared to the white specks measured by AR-2-03 and compared to the fiber data generated by several versions of AFIS including AFIS PRO. The study will look at AFIS PRO data at different stages in the mill. The information gathered has helped set a long term protocol for white speck processing research at the Southern Regional Research Center and is the beginning of a large data base which will include international cottons to develop the final WSP (White Speck Potential) equations. This information will be useful to as a tool to measure the effects of field and ginning practices on the levels of white specks without having to carry the research out to finished fabrics. Cotton breeders will be able to use the equations in the development of new varieties with low white speck potential, by eliminating varieties with high white speck potential early on.