The John Deere (JD) 7760 harvester has been taken up very quickly by the Australian cotton industry as these machines can harvest cotton virtually non-stop, making them very productive, requiring little labour as it dispenses with the requirement of module building. There were over 200 of these harvesters operational during the 2011/12 cotton season harvesting around 75% of the crop, which is the largest percentage of any crop harvested by the JD 7760 harvester worldwide.

There have been some suggestions that the quality of the cotton lint harvested by the JD 7760 harvester during the 2011/12 season was more variable and trashier than fibre harvested by the traditional basket machines which produce the conventional modules. In order to compare the quality from these two harvesting systems it was necessary to harvest a single field utilising both harvesting methods.

To ensure that environmental variables are accounted for, trials were conducted in the Gwydir Valley (central) and the Lachlan Valley (south) growing areas. The test fields were harvested at the same time of day, with moisture continually recorded to ensure that it stays below 12%. The Conventional and Round modules produced were staged in the sequence that they were produced to allow for direct comparison and to highlight issues such as infield variation or leaf defoliation etc. Round and Conventional modules were ginned at the same gin within a similar timeframe to ensure that there is no weathering effect applied to part of the sample modules.

This trial which was conducted in Boomi and Hillston has shown that there were no significant differences in the quality of cotton harvested by the JD 7760 and basket system spindle harvesters. However, this can only be achieved if seed cotton is not harvested when moisture is above 12%, that the Round modules are staged and transported to the gin and processed in the sequence that they were produced, that the modules are placed on a smooth, even and firm compact surface leaving a gap between modules to allow for water runoff and ensure that the wrap is not damaged.