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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 #157758
Title: COTTON FIBER PROPERTIES AND MOISTURE: WATER OF IMBIBITION

Author
item Rousselle, Marie
item Thibodeaux, Devron
item French, Alfred - Al

Submitted to: Textile Research Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/9/2004
Publication Date: 2/15/2005
Citation: Rousselle, M.A., Thibodeaux, D.P., French, A.D. 2005. Cotton Fiber Properties and Moisture: Water of Imbibition. Textile Research Journal. v. 75(2). p. 177-180.

Interpretive Summary: The price of a bale of cotton is determined partly by the length and strength of the fibers. Length and strength are measured at a standard relative humidity, since the properties are influenced by the moisture content of the fibers. The ease with which cotton can be spun into yarns in textile mills, and the quality of the yarns produced, is also affected by moisture content of the fibers. The moisture content of fibers at any humidity depends on whether the fibers were previously at a humidity that is higher or lower than the humidity used for testing and processing. Little is known about how fibers' response to moisture dependsn on the variety of the cotton, or the environmental conditions where it is grown. SRRC is participating in a multi-year study of selected varieties of cotton grown in Texas, Georgia, and Mississippi, to determine the suitability of new varieties for high-speed processing in textile mills. We have measured the water retained by cotton fibers from that study after boiling, soaking, and centrifuging, and compared that value to maturity properties previously determined by image analysis. These data will help researchers better understand how different varieties of cotton, grown in different areas, differ in moisture content of the fibers and in their perofrmance in modern textile mills.

Technical Abstract: Southern Regional Research Center (SRRC)is participating in a multi-year area-of-growth study of selected cotton cultivars, the American Textile Manufacturers Institute Cotton Variety Processing Trials. We report here preliminary moisture data (water of imbibition) on the cottons from the 2001 crop year, and compare them to maturity properties determined by image analysis and to Micronaire.