ABSTRACT

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service is charged with the responsibility of performing cotton quality evaluations of U.S. farmers' cotton. Proper moisture conditioning of fiber samples is essential for accurate machine measurements of length and strength. To maximize timeliness and efficiency to provide quality data to producers, the AMS has employed the use of rapid conditioning technology in many classing offices. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the active rapid conditioning system in comparison with traditional passive systems. Study methodology consisted of two parts. The first was a retrospective study of 1379 commercial gin samples in 1999 of which original classing data were compared with reclass data, assessing if their were consistent concomitant directions of movement of length and strength covariants. The second was a three-year laboratory study comparing length and strength measurements of samples that had been dried excessively and then conditioned under traditional or rapid conditioning methods. All studies showed that accuracy of fiber evaluations utilizing rapid conditioning systems are no different than those employing traditional conditioning systems.