Improved Device to Measure Cottonseed Strength

During processing, seeds of cotton cultivars with fragile seeds often break and produce seed coat fragments that can cause processing problems at textile mills. A previously developed cottonseed shear tester was modified with enhancements to the drive system to provide a constant pulling speed to the shearing mechanism which measured cottonseed strength. Evaluation of the modified tester showed that placing a cottonseed in the shear mechanism with the chalazal end of the cottonseed flush with the face of the mechanism produced a truer double shear than an alternative position. This flush position also resulted in less variable cottonseed shear force measurements. The shear device provides a useful tool for cotton breeders to rapidly quantify the seed strength of prospective cotton cultivars.