Distribution of Cross-Sectional Area, Perimeter, Circularity, and Secondary Wall Thickness of Different Cotton Fibers During Growth

Abstract

Bolls from four cottons, one from each of the cultivated species G. arboreum, G. herbaceum, G. barbadense, and G. hirsutum, were picked at weekly intervals. Crosssectional area and perimeter were determined for 200 fibers of each of these samples, and secondary wall thickness and circularity were calculated. Cross-sectional area, circularity, and secondary wall thickness increased with fiber growth. These increases were greater in the initial stages of development than in the later stages. The percentage of frequency distribution of cross-sectional area, perimeter, and secondary wall thickness indicated almost normal distribution, but there was no similar trend for circularity.The striking feature of cotton fiber is the variability of nearly every physical character. The cross-sectional shape is no exception, since it may vary from a bean shape to nearly round. Because of this, different methods have been used to classify shape factor for some sort of numerical index. Schloemer [3] was the first to consider shape factor in terms of area and perimeter, since obviously any variation in shape factor is mainly due to a variation in these. Chauhan et al.( 1 ] studied the variation in fiber characteristics such as perimeter, cell-wall area and thickness, and shape of raw and mercerized cotton fibers. In order to investigate changes in these parameters as a function of growth, these authors presented data on perimeter, cell-wall thickness, and cell-wall area of one cotton, Kalyan, and they observed that these fiber characteristics followed normal distribution for all three different growth periods. Similar work was initiated at the Cotton Technological Research Laboratory, Bombay, during 1972, and many aspects of shape factor were studied exhaustively. One of the aspects studied in detail was the change in circularity of fiber cross sections of cottons picked from the bolls of different species during the development period. The data regarding perimeter, cross-sectional area, circularity, and wall thickness are analyzed and presented here. . Experimental ..The cottons selected were AK.235 (G. arboreum), Digvijay (G. herbaceum), Gujarat 67 (G. hirsutum), and ERB.4530 (G. barbadense). Bolls of these cottons were picked at weekly intervals ending at 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, and 63 days after flowering and preserved under 4% formalin solution. (Note that for two of the cottons, AK.235 and ERB.4530, the bolls of 63 days were not available, while for three of the cottons, Digvijay, Gujarat 67, and ERB.4530, the cross sections for 28 days could not be taken because the fibers had become entangled upon dehydration.) Fibers from cotton bolls were dehydrated at room temperature and the cross sections were obtained with a Hardy microtome modified according to Schwarz and Shapiro [4]. The cross sections were magnified to 1350X under a microscope fitted with a Euscope and a ground glass screen. The circularity (C) was determined using Schloemer's formula [3], C = 4aA/P2, where A is the cross-sectional area measured with a polar plan...

Effects of cotton genotype, defoliation timing and season on fiber cross-sectional properties and yarn performance

“…7 to 10 times) and smaller sample sizes (n ¼ 200). Chauhan et al 52 also measured the cross-sectional properties of various cotton genotypes using a similar method to Petkar et al 21 (and the same sample number) at 45, 55, and 65 DPA stages of development. The Chauhan et al 52 results were similar, except that increases in fiber perimeter with increasing developmental age were detected.…”

The Cotton Fiber Property Variability Continuum from Motes Through Seeds

“…The degree of cell wall thickening for ir with an average ginned weight of I or 2 mg showed the capacity for cell wall synthesis was not termin with the termination of embryo. growth, since cm growth most likely terminated prior to 16 duys I anthesis when cellulose deposition becomes prom in fiber, fuzz, and seed epidermal cells ~:~, I I. Although fiber length was similar in r~r~r.…”

“…A cross-sectional analysis of G. (irboretim, G. herceum. G. barbadense, and G. hir.sutum fiben during the iod of cell wall thickening showed that increases in cell ll thickness paralleled increases in circularity ( 16]. High ndard deviations in perimeter measurements obscured V trends related to the chronological age of fibers [ 16].…”

“…Normal seed and fiber development can be des from two viewpoints-the chronological approach in er properties are related to days post-anthesis, and the ysiological-chronological approach in which fiber propies are correlated with a dominant environmental factor >., temperature). Fiber fineness and maturity have been >nitored directly with cross-sectional analysis or indi->tly with the Zellweger-Uster advanced fiber information item (AHs) [4,6,14,16]. Fiber property values, measured calculated, include fiber width, wall thickness, circularity , area, micronafis (an AAS analogue of micronaire), and imeter.…”

“…G. barbadense, and G. hir.sutum fiben during the iod of cell wall thickening showed that increases in cell ll thickness paralleled increases in circularity ( 16]. High ndard deviations in perimeter measurements obscured V trends related to the chronological age of fibers [ 16]. e AHS fiber properties of area, circulanty ( 6), and miinafis increased as the chronological age of fibers in-:ased, while IFF decreased as chronological age ineased [5].…”