The Utilization of Diplodia-Damaged Boll-Rot Cotton

Abstract

Cotton fiber severely damaged by the boll-rot fungus Diplodia sp, was blended with a control white cotton in percentages of 2.5, 5.0, 10.0, and 35.0. Equal amounts of the control cot!on and of these blends were spun with a 3.75 T.M. into 38/1 (16 tex) filling yarns. \Vlth a common warp made from the same control cotton these filling yarns were woven into a 5-hames~, 3-eou~t, filling-faced sateen fabric' (37! in., 64 X 104, 4.37 ?z). The~rab and str~p breaking strengths and resistance to tearing and flex abrasion of fabrics whose filling yarns contained up to 5% of Diplodia fiber were not appreciably lower than those of the fabric having the control cotton in the filling. The large drop in value of these fabric properties when the 35% Diplodia-fiber filling was used was attributed~o the increase in short fiber content of the blend.Spectrophotometric analyses and visual examination of bleached and of bleachedand-dyed samples indicated th~practicality of these finishing operations on cottons containing as much as 10% of Dlplodia-damaged fiber.Field observations suggest that in commercial practice bales containing higher percentages of boll-;ot~amaged fiber th~n are represented by the 5% blend here employed are rare. .Data m~llls and the preced~ng c~mpanion paper indicate that within the range of processing techniques employed Dlplodla-damaged fiber exerts less detrimental effect than might have been anticipated.