In West Texas, sticky cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) may occasionally occur with contamination from aphid (Aphis gossyppi) honeydew or excess plant sugars in the fiber due to cool night temperatures and/or late maturity. If fiber stickiness were due to plant sugars, the potential might be reduced by selecting cultivars and lines that produce fibers with low residual sugar content (<0.3 % reducing sugars) at harvest.

Field experiments were conducted over a five-year period with cultivars and lines varying in maturity class (early, mid-, and full-season). Experimental design was a split-plot with four replications, with genotypes as main plots, and harvest aids as subplots. Harvest aid treatments were ethephon (Prep®), paraquat (Cyclone®), and desiccation by a killing frost. At harvest, bolls were hand-picked from three fruiting zones. Seed cotton was ginned and cleaned once with a lint cleaner. In the first two years, reducing sugars were determined for all fruiting zones (top, middle, and bottom), genotypes, and harvest aids treatments, while in the final three years, glucose and sucrose were determined. In all years, 2.2 lb. samples of ginned lint were carded and rated for stickiness.

Fiber stickiness was found only occasionally. In years when there was substantial rainfall prior to harvest, fiber stickiness was not detected and sugar content on fiber was very low. Contrary to expectations, neither reducing sugars nor glucose correlated well with stickiness ratings based on carding; however, fiber stickiness ratings and sucrose levels were frequently well correlated. Stickiness potential was most frequently observed in bolls harvested from the uppermost fruiting zone in comparison to levels found in the middle and bottom zones. Stickiness potential was most often found when cotton was harvested following a killing frost, compared to treatment with ethephon or paraquat. Fiber stickiness and sugar levels varied between years and genotypes. There was no association between stickiness potential and maturity classes of genotypes.