Yarn Performance of Texas Quality Upland Cotton Germplasm

Ring and rotor spinning predominate the cotton spinning market with ring spinning dominating globally while United States (U.S.) spinners prefer rotor because of its production speed and high automation level. Newer and faster spinning technologies such as “air jet” spinning, exemplified by Murata Vortex Spinning (MVS), are being deployed. Rotor spinning produces yarn five times faster than ring, and the MVS produces 100 % cotton yarn over 20 times faster than ring spinning. Fiber quality improvements will be necessary for Upland cotton to be competitive with other fibers on MVS. Texas A&M Agrilife Research has released improved fiber quality germplasm lines and cultivars that equal or exceed the fiber quality parameters associated with the New Mexico Acala germplasm pool, which is considered the elite quality among Upland breeding pools. Two improved quality Texas A&M germplasm lines were compared with Acala 1517-08 for High Volume Instrument (HVI) and Advanced Fiber Information System (AFIS) fiber quality parameters plus yarn strength and appearance parameters. These genotypes were grown in 2017 and 2019 at Weslaco, Texas under irrigated culture. The three genotypes were similar in all fiber quality measurements except lengh and fiber strength. TAM 06WE-621 and TAM KJ-Q14 produced stronger yarns with improved yarn appearance when spun on either ring or air jet spinning technologies. Data suggest that the Texas A&M quality germplasm pool can be used to develop Upland cotton cultivars that will produce fibers competitive for the emerging MVS technology.