ABSTRACT

Moisture and micronaire measurements were performed on 21 cotton samples exhibiting a range in genetic diversity and growing locations. A comparison of these results indicates that moisture content increases as a function of decreasing micronaire, suggesting a concomitant decrease in cellulose crystallinity. Determination of crystallinity indices by FTIR spectroscopy proved unable to distinguish between the upper and lower limit moisture samples due to the relative insensitivity of the method.