Variability of Fiber AFIS Length and Maturity within and Among Upland Cotton Cultivars

Abstract

One of the current commercially available and accepted instruments for simultaneous cotton fiber length and maturity measurement is the advanced fiber information system (AFIS), which tests an individualized (single) fiber in lint samples. Extending fiber length and maturity measurement into a seed cotton, the AFIS method is an option, since it requires a minimum 0.5 g sample that could be accessible via a single locule sampling. In this study, AFIS measurement was examined for locule fibers within a naturally variable seed cotton cultivar and for ginned lint of different cultivars. In comparison with averages of AFIS length and maturity from locule samples in a seed cotton, those from lint samples of the same cultivar or diverse cultivars showed less differences in L(w), UQL(w), L5%(n) and maturity ratio (MR). The result suggested the feasibility of estimating L(w), UQL(w), L5%(n), and MR in a lint from AFIS measurements of multiple locule fibers in its seed cotton. Comparison of correlations between locule samples of a seed cotton and lint samples of diverse cultivars indicated statistically significant sampling method X ginning interactions for all AFIS length and maturity properties except for MR and Fineness. The analysis also implied the difficulties of evaluating AFIS length from AFIS maturity directly.

Keywords

• Cotton fiber
• fiber quality
• fiber length
• fiber length distribution
• fiber maturity
• advanced fiber information system (AFIS)