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Abstract
Excerpts from the report: Mechanical harvesting of Acala 1517 cotton has increased substantially in recent years. This has created several problems in connection with both harvesting and ginning which can have an important effect upon cost of production. These problems involve the effects of varying defoliation practices, in combination with varying levels of lint moisture and gin cleaning conditions, on various fiber and spinning qualities. Also involved in the problems associated with mechanical harvesting are the effects of variations in micronaire, grade, and staple length on market values of raw cotton and on costs of manufacturing cotton. The primary objective of this study was to determine the effects of different defoliation, gin cleaning, and gin drying treatments, individually and in combination on several fiber, yarn, and processing variables, returns to producers, and costs of manufacturing. Secondary objectives were to compare first machine-picked (bottom- and middle-crop) cotton with second machine-picked (top-crop) cotton from the same plots and to compare first hand-picked cotton with first machine-picked cotton.