Extra long staple upland cotton for the production of superior yarns

Cotton (Gossypium spp.) fibers are produced primarily by G. hirsutum L., upland, and G. barbadense L., pima, or Extra Long Staple (ELS). Two ELS upland lines, developed by Texas AgriLife Research, along with 'FiberMax 832LL' (FM 832) and 'DPL Pima HTO' (Pima HTO), were grown in a randomized complete block design at College Station, TX, during 2007 and 2008. Subplots of spindle-harvested seedcotton were ginned on a saw gin or roller gin with appropriate lint cleaning. High-volume instrument (HVI) and Advanced Fiber Information System (AFIS) fiber parameters were determined. Combed 50-Ne (English yarn count) and 80-Ne yarns were produced. Upland ELS lines exhibited longer (p < 0.01) fibers than FM 832, but only TAM B182-33 ELS produced fibers longer or equal (p < 0.01) to Pima HTO. Upland ELS lines produced stronger 50-Ne ring-spun yarns than FM 832 but not Pima HTO, which also produced stronger 80-Ne ring-spun yarn than the upland ELS lines. While roller ginning resulted in significantly higher micronaire, longer upper half mean length, more uniform fiber lengths, and longer upper-quartile length than saw ginning among these genotypes, yarn parameters reported were not affected. All genotypes responded the same to ginning platform, suggesting that further development of the upland ELS trait will not dictate a change in ginning equipment for upland cotton. The upland ELS trait contributes to significantly improved upland yarn quality.