Location: Cotton Production and Processing Research
Project Number: 3096-21410-008-000-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated
Start Date: Jul 7, 2015
End Date: Apr 16, 2020
Objective:
Objective 1: Enable, from a technological standpoint, new commercial equipment and processes for harvesting, storing, and pre-processing Upland cotton; resulting in (1) lower use of chemicals, and (2) enhanced cleanliness and quality of the seed cotton, cottonseed, and/or lint fiber.
Subobjective 1A: Develop technology for chemical free cotton pre-harvest defoliation and desiccation treatments.
Subobjective 1B: Develop sensing technology for monitoring/control of cotton during harvest operations.
Subobjective 1C: Evaluate the accuracy of microwave sensor based cotton yield monitoring systems and investigate the relationships between yield measurement error and crop characteristics and environmental parameters.
Subobjective 1D: Develop technology for improving the accuracy and reliability of cotton yield monitor data.
Subobjective 1E: Develop technology for improving the cleanliness of harvested seed cotton and the efficiency and productivity of cotton harvest.
Objective 2: Enable new commercial technologies and methods for post-harvest processing of stripper-harvested seed cotton, cottonseed, lint fiber and/or agricultural byproducts that preserve and/or enhance quality/value, storage, and utilization.
Subobjective 2A: Develop sensing technology for identification and control of cotton gin moisture control systems.
Subobjective 2B: Develop commercially viable means of delinting cottonseed, to produce planting quality (naked) seed, without the use of chemicals.
Subobjective 2C: Develop and evaluate the use of cotton gin byproducts in the manufacture of composite materials.
Subobjective 2D: Develop methods and technology for improving the quality and productivity of Southern High Plains cotton.
Sub-objective 2E: Develop sensing technology for detection of contaminants in seed-cotton and cotton lint during post-harvest operations.
Sub-objective 2F: Develop simulation models for use in enabling rapid development of cotton-gin based contamination removal machinery.
Sub-objective 2G: Develop machinery for detection and removal of contaminants in seed-cotton during harvest operations.
3: Enhance the knowledge base pertaining to measurement, characterization, and estimation of non-combustion source particulate matter emitted from agricultural production and processing operations.
Approach:
This five-year project plan addresses critical production, harvesting, and processing issues facing cotton producers and processors in the United States. Our plan of work is based on an interactive research approach which emphasizes the development of improved harvest preparation, mechanical harvesting, lint cleaning, cottonseed processing equipment, and in finding suitable uses for cotton byproducts and/or waste materials. The planned research targets two critical areas: 1) harvest, storing, and pre-processing technologies for Upland cotton, and 2) innovative post-harvest processing of seed cotton, cottonseed, lint fiber, and/or cotton byproducts and co-products. Commercial viability of the research is a key component of any problem solution.
