The Relative Contribution of Fiber Properties to Variations in Yarn Strength in Upland Cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L

Abstract

We found that the relative contribution of fiber properties in predicting yarn strength in commercial cultivars of Upland cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., was influenced mainly by the type of varibility in the population under study. Whenever the sources of variation in a population were genetic, environmental, and genotype X environment interaction, the order of fiber properties affecting yam strength were: fiber strength ( T1), fiber length, and fiber fineness. For such a population, fiber length distribution, as reflected in 50% span length, mean length, and mean length of drawing sliver contributed more to yam strength than the longer measurements—2.5% span length, upper-half mean length, and upper-half mean length of drawing sliver. In the absence of the genetic source of variation (within a cultivar) the contribution of fiber properties to yarn strength differed from one cultivar to another, suggesting an interaction between each cultivar and its environment.