Dealing with spindle twist, seedcoat fragments, and poor preparation in the short and long terms depends on effective picking and ginning. Additionally, In the long term, breeding to develop shorter-statured, earlier-maturing varieties with Increased fiber-length, and uniformity, stronger fiber, and only slightly finer fiber will result in Pima cotton that can be picked and ginned more effectively. Developing varieties with greater heat tolerance for growing in the hotter areas of the Pima belt will tend to reduce mote problems. Efforts to obtain the above objectives for improving fiber quality are well underway.

The fiber length, strength, and micronaire of American Pima have been readily accepted by domestic and foreign spinners of fine-count yarns. Our domestic consumption of extra-long staple cotton has expanded only moderately, but our exports have Increased many fold In the past six years. This Increase is phenomenal when considering that our main competition comes from countries where the cotton Is hand harvested. The hand-harvested cotton requires little or no cleaning, and the fiber has an excellent appearance. Our machine-picked cotton does not always appear as attractive as our competitors' hand-picked cotton, but the fiber properties of American Pima do give a desirable product of fine yarns generally up to 80 and 90 counts.

The U.S. entered the extra-long staple foreign market In the early 1980's by exporting the best qualities--the cotton that had been machine picked and ginned most effectively. These high qualities satisfied the foreign demands. As the exports continued to expand, it became evident that a higher proportion of the Pima crop must be of high quality. These events presented a real opportunity for an evaluation of Pima production systems and practices, with the objective of improving quality.