The quantity of leaf hairs (trichomes) on cotton plants affects the leaf grade of ginned lint and is a genetic trait that varies widely for commercial cotton varieties. Nine cultivars were investigated in the Mississippi Delta in 1985 and their trichome densities were divided into three groups and assigned indices. The trichome counts of the groups averaged 72, 365, and 641 per cm². DPL 50 and 90 were in group 1; PD 6186, AC 1517, and TC SP37H were in group 2; and McNair 235, STV 825, STV 506 and DES 119 in group 3. The indices or groupings provide a rapid assessment of the expected cleanability of cotton varieties.