Agronomic Management to optimise Textile Performance
Abstract
Australian cotton is purchased for a premium as it meets spinner’s requirements on the basis of quality and consistency. Coarse (high micronaire) fibre, high nep counts and excessive short fibre content are aspects of Australian cotton that spinners would like to see improved. Fibre quality in the field is affected by a large number of interacting factors: variety, seasonal conditions, crop and harvest management. This project continues explicit and important research employing a
combination of both in-field and post-harvest research efforts to improve the quality of Australian cotton, key strategies of both the CRDC and CRC. Improving the understanding of the links between agronomy and textile performance will allow us to better refine in-field crop management recommendations to ensure cotton produced meets or exceeds market expectations.
Specific objectives were to: (i) Improve the understanding of the effects of crop stress on micronaire and its components fineness and maturity. (ii) Reduce neps in the field through development of monitoring approaches to identify instances where crops have an increased risk of neps. (iii) Identify management practices that improve the consistency of cotton taken from the field. (iv) Conduct research to establish the value (price and textile value) of blending/segregation of lint quality based on quality attributes. (v) Identify other unique fibre quality attributes of Australian cotton to enhance its market value. (vi) Maintain research capability and activities into fibre quality research from the ‘field to fabric’.
This project was successful in providing new knowledge on fibre quality issues through:
Improved understanding of the changes in crop management practices and climate that affect micronaire and its components of linear density and maturity.
A new methodology to predict micronaire using temperature around boll filling was developed.
A potential in-field approach to estimating the influence of harvest aid timing on final micronaire
at harvest was developed by measuring the quality of immature bolls at the prior to the time of harvest aid application.
Demonstrated in-field blending of cotton seed attempting to raise quality; no benefits were identified.
Research was undertaken to assess whether end of season management could be employed to
improve the consistency of fibre quality. In these studies no improvements were identified
through the use of late season application of Mepiquat Choride, missing last irrigation, or defoliating earlier.
The effects of early defoliation on fibre immaturity and textile performance was quantified and
related to measurements of crop status. Results showed that the current industry recommendation of application of harvest aids at 60% bolls open is adequate to limit impacts on yarn strength and dye uptake.
Despite differences in micronaire resulting from differences in defoliation timing machine spindle
harvesting did not interact with harvest aid timing to further increase neps. On average machine spindle harvesting contributed 53 neps over hand-harvested cotton.
Multiple linear regression models for yarn strength which included yarn manufacturing variables
card or comb, count (12, 15, 20 tex), twist (knit or weave) and HVI fibre quality
parameters performed well. Models performed better when alternatives to micronaire, such as gravimetric linear density, were used, although models using laser diffraction ribbon width were best. This information has contributed to the development of Cottonspec.
Continued to raise the awareness of the effects of climate and management on fibre
quality through the Geelong ‘Field to Fabric’ course, FIBREpak, myBMP, the cotton production manual, and various other industry forums.
Ongoing on-farm research into fibre quality will be most likely be supported through the ongoing project ‘Agronomic Management for Better Fibre and Textile Quality’ supported by CSIRO and the CRDC. New research will include undertaking the first systems experiments investigating the value of

the use of premium varieties with modified ‘fibre friendly’ agronomy and processing compared with standard practice. Other research will include: Developing improved understanding of fibre properties that increase neps in fibre, yarn and fabric. Finer fibres are sought by spinners, but efforts to reduce fineness may increase their propensity to nep; Undertaking research to develop an improved understanding of the value of late season bolls to final yield and quality; and (3) Evaluating methods to enable growers and ginners to predict quality at the end of season to assist with harvest preparation and gin settings through online micronaire and neps predictors, and scoping opportunities for in-field measures of quality.
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- 2012 Final Reports
CRDC Final reports submitted 2012