What are the latest factors affecting cotton fiber quality
Cotton is the main raw material for the textile industry, and the quality of its fiber directly affects the quality of textiles, so cotton quality has also become a key factor in the competitiveness of raw cotton. So what are the factors that affect cotton fiber quality? Let's take a look together.
1. Genetic characteristics of the variety
Cotton fiber quality depends to a large extent on the genetic characteristics of the variety. At present, the fiber length of many cotton varieties grown in Xinjiang is generally 29mm, and their fiber strength and fineness are relatively poor, far from meeting the requirements of high-quality cotton, and the adaptability and yield stability of the varieties are also poor. The fiber quality of these cottons can currently only maintain the status quo, far from meeting the demand of production and the market for high-quality cotton.
2. Improper cultivation management
In order to pursue quality, many farmers blindly adopt the “short, dense, early” planting model, which leads to strong vegetative growth of cotton, causing field closure, intensified pests and diseases, and an increase in the number of rotten bolls. Moreover, fertilization is too single, mainly chemical fertilizers, with more fertilizer applied in the early stage, and nutrient deficiency and premature senescence are very likely to occur in the later stage. There is a lot of blindness in the agents used when preventing and controlling pests and diseases, and several agents are often mixed, causing damage to cotton quality. In addition, the use of foliar fertilizers and growth regulators is unreasonable, and 2 or more kinds are often mixed, resulting only in enlarged leaves and dark green to black-green leaf color, excessive vegetative growth, causing late formation of buds and bolls, delayed maturity, and poor fiber development.
3. Climate and environmental changes
Cotton fiber develops from the epidermal cells of the ovule. Within 20 days after flowering is the main elongation period of the fiber, and elongation basically stops after 25 days. The elongation and development of cotton fiber are closely related to temperature. The optimum elongation temperature is between 20-25 degrees. Below 15 degrees or above 25 degrees will cause the fiber to stop elongating. If the daytime temperature is too high and the nighttime temperature is too low, cotton fiber elongation is inhibited, making it difficult to reach the length achieved at suitable temperatures, causing a serious decline in quality.
4. Problems in harvesting
During harvesting, different varieties are mixed and harvested together, and there is also the phenomenon of passing off inferior goods as good ones during trading, which causes instability in cotton varieties. In addition, as the area of continued harvesting continues to expand, it also has a certain impact on cotton varieties. During mechanical harvesting, in order to carry out timely mechanical harvesting, defoliants must be used in early September. For varieties with too long a growth period, the use of defoliants will result in fibers being unable to mature naturally and normally, causing a certain impact on cotton fiber quality.
The above is an introduction to the factors affecting cotton fiber quality. We hope it can help you. If you want to learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.