Sucrosyl oligosaccharides appear to function as cell wall precursors. A decrease in sucrose concentration and a concomitant increase in raffinose concentration characterize maximal secondary wall synthesis in cotton fibers. The relative concentrations of sucrosyl oligosaccharides were found to vary fibers from plants subjected to high stress in irrigation experiments. In this work, various substrates were added to developing fibers and found to be consumed over a 72 hour period. The ratios of substrates altered the oligomers (~mers) which were extracted by dilute acid. The in planta administration of myo-inositol gave similar results to the in vitro incubations.