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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 #314387
Title: Simultaneous measurements of Cotton fiber maturity, fineness, ribbon width, and micronaire

Author
item Rodgers Iii, James
item Delhom, Christopher - Chris

Submitted to: Proceedings Of The American Association Of Textile Chemists And Colorists
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/18/2015
Publication Date: 3/19/2015
Citation: Rodgers III, J.E., Delhom, C.D. 2015. Simultaneous measurements of Cotton fiber maturity, fineness, ribbon width, and micronaire. Proceedings Of The American Association Of Textile Chemists And Colorists. p. 733-741.

Interpretive Summary: Maturity (degree of secondary wall development) and fineness (linear density) are important cotton quality and processing properties, but their direct measurement is often difficult and/or expensive to perform. An indirect but critical measurement of maturity and fineness is micronaire, which is one of the properties used to “class” or grade cotton. The Cottonscope provides rapid, accurate, and precise measurements of cotton fiber maturity, fineness, ribbon width, and micronaire simultaneously in water using polarized light microscopy and image analysis. The Cottonscope results were compared to corresponding maturity, fineness, and micronaire results from the HVI and AFIS units. Cottonscope results, both direct and calculated, yielded very good agreement to corresponding HVI (micronaire, maturity) and AFIS (maturity, fineness) results. Cottonscope maturity distributions were superior to those from the AFIS unit, being more representative of expected shapes.

Technical Abstract: Maturity (degree of secondary wall development) and fineness (linear density) are important cotton quality and processing properties, but their direct measurement is often difficult and/or expensive to perform. An indirect but critical measurement of maturity and fineness is micronaire, which is one of the properties used to “class” or grade cotton. In the U.S., the Uster® HVI is used to class or grade cotton fiber. The Cottonscope provides rapid, accurate, and precise measurements of cotton fiber maturity, fineness, ribbon width, and micronaire simultaneously in water using polarized light microscopy and image analysis. The Cottonscope results were compared to corresponding maturity, fineness, and micronaire results from the HVI and AFIS units. Cottonscope results, both direct and calculated, yielded very good agreement to corresponding HVI (micronaire, maturity) and AFIS (maturity, fineness) results. Cottonscope maturity distributions were superior to those from the AFIS unit, being more representative of expected shapes.