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ABSTRACT
In this study, thirty-six cultivars of U.S. upland cotton are selected and their wax content determined by the Conrad method. Both ring spun and open-end yams are then made from these cottons. Various fiber and yam properties are measured before and after wax removal using its, HVI, the West Point cohesion tester, and the Uster Tensorapid yarn tensile tester. Correlations of wax content with fiber properties and yam properties are analyzed.
The natural wax present in cotton fibers plays an important role in both physical processing (converting fibers to fabrics) and chemical processing (dyeing and finishing). Wax may also play an important role in the strength and elongation of yarns spun from these cottons. However, the effect of cotton wax content on yarn properties has not been investigated. As we become more proficient at assessing the quality of cotton through HVI (high volume instrument) data and yarn property estimation equations, we seek ways and means to improve the accuracy of their predictions. In some cases, we examine the changes in fiber properties with processing. In other instances, we search for other fiber properties not measured by HvI to help to explain discrepancies.
A property of cotton that has recently received some interest is wax content. Taylor reported that wax content is positively correlated with fabric strength [10]. Therefore, the objectives of our investigation are to determine the wax content of some U.S. upland cotton varieties and to analyze its relationship with various fiber properties and its effect on yarn properties. This paper (Part I) reports our results on cotton wax content and fiber properties. Wax and yam properties will be reported in Part II.
Materials
For this study, we selected a total of thirty-six different cotton cultivars exhibiting a wide range of genetic diversity. They were grown in Stoneville, Mississippi, in 1995. The four replicated plots of each cotton were harvested, sampled to determine agronomic data and some fiber properties, then combined prior to ginning. The cottons were ginned using a laboratory gin at the USDA's Ginning Research Laboratory in Stoneville. The cultivar, origin, and identification number of the samples are given in Table I.
The wax contents of the samples were determined by Soxhlet extraction [6]. Various fiber properties were measured...