ABSTRACT
Sticky cotton has been an increasing problem in some cotton growing areas of Arizona and California associated with high Bemisia argentifolii Bellows and Perring populations. A study was conducted in the Imperial Valley, CA in 1995 to determine the effect of Solvay Enzyme B on lint stickiness. Results showed that enzyme applications of 2 to 10% by volume did not reduce lint stickiness under field conditions. This was likely due to the small increase in seed cotton moisture after these applications. Moisture of seed cotton was increased less than 1% when 50 gal/acre of water was applied to open bolls daily for 7 days. On the average, seed cotton moisture varied from 3.5% in the afternoon to 5.1% early in the morning. Lint stickiness was reduced when moisture was increased to 10% and lint samples were incu-bated at 96°F for 72 hours. The reduction was significant for thermodetector ratings of 42 to 34 for untreated cotton compared to a thermodetector rating of 27 following 10% enzyme application.
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