ABSTRACT

Fiber property research regarding the measurement of micronaire, maturity and fineness has been ongoing at the Southern Regional Research Center. This paper presents an update of the most recent advances in several aspects of this research. First, these fiber properties were measured with an upgraded Micromat Fineness and Maturity tester (FMT) as well as with a near infrared instrument (NIR). Cottons from two consecutive growing seasons (2001 and 2002) in fixed regions were evaluated from year to year and region to region. Secondly, the NIR was calibrated with over 200 cottons analyzed by the FMT. Prediction algorithms were generated and used to predict the fiber properties of a different set of cottons, the 2002 crop. Results were subsequently correlated with the FMT measurements. Thirdly, the experimental relationships between properties were investigated further and were determined to be governed by a family of continuous lines, rather than a single line.