A guide to improving Australian cotton fibre quality
The cotton fibre is unique in generating a host of products thatsustain and make life for humans more comfortable and atheistically appealing. Australian cotton is viewed worldwide as an excellent fibre. It is usually purchased with the intention of producing high quality combed, ring-spun yarns for use in the woven and knitted apparel sector in the Asia-Pacific region. China is becoming an increasingly significant market. Australian cotton is often purchased for a premium as it meets many of the spinner’s requirements on the basis of quality and consistency. It has the specific fibre qualities required to spin high-quality yarn and produce desirable high value textile products.
Fibre quality is affected by a large number of interacting factors:variety, seasonal conditions, crop and harvest management, and ginning can all determine whether or not the spinner’s requirements are met. While some of these factors cannot be controlled, there are many that can. Through better understanding of the nature of fibre and the factors that affect its quality, improved varieties, management for each region’s climate, and processing to minimise damage to fibre are all opportunities to improve the quality of fibre delivered to mills.
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The Cotton Fibre 11
Cotton Fibre Development 11
Fibre Initiation 11
Fibre Elongation 12
Fibre Thickening 13
Fibre micronaire, fineness, maturity, linear density, perimeter 16
Fibre Maturation 17
Cotton Fibre Quality and its Relationship to Yield 18
Fabric Quality 20
Yarn Count 20
Niche Textile Markets 21
Yarn - The Magic of Spinning 23
Spinning Yarns 24
Opening, Blending and Cleaning 26
Carding 26
Drawing 26
Combing 27
Roving 27
Spinning 28
Winding 29
Summary of consequences of poor fibre quality 32
Fibre length, Length Uniformity, and Short Fibre Content (SFC) 33
Fibre Strength 35
Elongation 36
Neps 36
Trash 37
Stickiness 37
Colour or grade 37
Fibre Linear Density 37
Limitations of the Micronaire measurement 39
Summary of key in-field management decision for optimising quality 45
Impact of delayed crop maturity 49
Weed control 50
Crop Nutritional Management 51
Optimising sowing date for yield and quality 52
Establishing uniform crops at optimum plant densities 55
Skip row configurations in dryland and limited water situations 56
Managing plant size to support later fruit growth. 58
Node Development 59
Square Number 59
Vegetative growth rate (VGR) 59
Crop Nutritional Management 60
Crop Irrigation Management 61
Avoiding herbicide or insect damage 61
Avoiding water stress on developing bolls 64
Maintaining a uniform boll setting to optimise Micronaire 64
High boll load, small plant 65
Low boll load, large plant 65
Optimising the timing of cutout 66
Monitoring the timing of cutout 67
Late season growth regulator application 67
Irrigation management for finishing the crop 69
Determining end of season crop water requirements 70
Determining crop maturity 71
Managing Aphid and Whitefly Infestations to avoid sticky cotton 72
Timeliness of harvest operation 74
Effective application of harvest aids 76
Types of Harvest Aids 77
Timing of the Application of Harvest Aids 77
Key issues for use of defoliants 78
Pre season maintenance 82
Daily setup and checks 82
Avoiding harvest operations when cotton is wet 83
Guidelines for module placement, construction, tarping and transport 86
Module Placement 86
Module Construction 86
Module Tarping 87
Module Transportation 88
Keeping module records 88
Summary of key post harvest decision for optimising quality 90
Ginning Process 91
Module Bay 92
Pre-cleaning 92
Drying and moisture maintenance 93
Ginning 94
Lint cleaning 95
Maintenance of bale moisture 96
Bale wraps 97
Bale Warehousing 98
Classing 98
Ring spinning 100
Rotor spinning (open –end spinning) 100
Air jet spinning (vortex) 101
