Analysis of the wool thickness and medullation characteristics based on sex and color in a herd of alpacas in Poland

Abstract

Abstract. The objective of this study was to analyze the thickness and medullation characteristics of the wool of a herd of Huacaya alpacas kept in Poland. Wool samples were collected from 36 adult alpacas, including 22 females and 14 males. Light (15 animals) and dark (21 animals) color varieties of wool were considered in this research. A projection microscope was used to measure the fiber diameter and assess the medullation. Each fiber was categorized according to the medulla as a non-medullated, discontinuous medullated or continuous medullated fiber. The mean fiber diameter (MFD), standard deviation (SD), coefficient of variation (CV), comfort factor (CF) and prickling factor (PF) were determined for each sample. The MFD, SD and CV were also determined for the abovementioned fiber categories. The mean fiber diameter of all alpacas tested was 25.31 µm. The CF and PF were 77.79 % and 22.21 %, respectively. The medullation percentage in the wool of the study alpacas was 68.91 %. The mean fiber diameter was larger in males (P<0.05) than in females. There were no differences between males and females in terms of the proportion of fibers with a diameter < 30 µm (CF) and > 30 µm (PF). The non-medullated fibers in the wool of females were thinner (P<0.05) than in the wool of males. The wool of males also had a larger degree of medullation. Light wool was thinner (P<0.05) than dark wool. The discontinuous and the continuous medullated fibers were thicker (P<0.05) in dark wool than in light wool. In dark wool, the share of discontinuous fibers was higher (P<0.05) and the share of the non-medullated fibers was lower (P<0.05) than in light wool. The presence of various types of medulla or the absence of medulla was noted in fibers with smaller and larger diameters, regardless of the sex of the animals or the color of the wool.