Impact of Non-HVI Fiber Quality Parameters on Processability and End-Product Quality.

Upland cotton ranks fourth in planted acreage in the United States, behind corn, wheat, and soybeans. In response to the demand for cotton fabric, worldwide consumption of cotton fiber has more than doubled from 1960 to 2011. Though cotton fiber consumption has increased, cotton has lost half its market shares to competition from synthetic fibers. To improve its competitiveness as compared with man-made fibers; cotton fiber must exhibit reduced variability so that it may perform more predictably at the mill. This can be achieved by breeding for an improved distribution in fiber quality using non-HVI fiber properties.

 

While consumers demand cotton yarns and fabrics, variability in cotton fiber quality makes it a challenging natural raw material to transform into a consistent industrial product. Natural variability in cotton fiber quality can translate into imperfections in spun yarns. Imperfections in the yarns, in turn, result in imperfection in the finished textiles. In addition to impacting the value of finished yarns and textiles, variability in cotton fiber negatively impacts processing ability. Indeed, yarn imperfections translate into weak points which increase yarn breakages and lower productivity at the mill.

Developing cotton varieties with improved spinning performance and yarn quality poses a formidable challenge. Spinning trials demand a great deal of time and money, making them impractical in a sizeable breeding program. Therefore, breeding lines are not screened based on their spinning performance. Instead, breeders interested in selecting cotton varieties with improved spinning performance make their selections indirectly, based on fiber quality parameters. The most common source of fiber quality parameters is the High Volume Instrument (HVI). HVI results are popular because the test is relatively fast and inexpensive. It is important to ask if fiber quality parameters provided by HVI testing are adequate for selecting elite cotton lines for improved spinning performance.