A Novel Method for Measuring Cotton Seed Breakability As an Indication of Propensity to Create Seed Coat Fragments.

Cotton seed coat fragments cause significant problems within the textile industry resulting in major discounts for cotton bales containing excessive seed coat fragments. Identifying and eliminating germplasm that may result in high seed coat fragments count could help avoid this issue in commercially grown cotton.  This study was aimed at developing a protocol to measure the force required to break the seed coat of fuzzy cotton seeds. Using a universal tensile machine (UTM), fuzzy seed from 18 varieties were compressed to the point of fracture. The initial breaking force peak and the maximum breaking force were recorded and used to compare a selected set of varieties. Our results show that there are statistically significant differences among varieties for the force required to break the seed coat (ranging from 44.6 N to 87.2 N). Cotton seeds with higher breaking force will likely withstand mechanical processing better than those with lower breaking force. Less broken seeds will result in fewer seed coat fragments within cotton bales, spun yarns, and woven fabrics. The use of the universal tensile machine to measure the breakability of cotton seeds is an effective method for identifying germplasm with the potential to create seed coat fragments that will negatively affect the textile performance and marketability of cotton fiber.