Investigation of fiber maturity and crystallinity information in Upland seed cottons by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Cotton fiber maturity has been determined by cross-sectional image analysis (IA), advanced fiber information system (AFIS), and Cottonscope methods on cotton lint. These methods have reported the results as average maturity and maturity distribution in a sample, through measuring the fibers in the ways of either individual fiber cross-section or longitude of several sub-samples. Previous studies have shown good agreement in maturity for well-prepared samples among these methods, although AFIS is observed to be less sensitive. As a different approach, attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectroscopy was proposed to measure fiber maturity ( M _IR ) at bundle fiber level. Extending fiber maturity measurement into seed cotton, the FT-IR method might be an option considering such factors as essential cotton seed and visible trash removal, measuring system availability and speed, and also sub-sampling representation in a naturally variable sample. A comparison of fiber M _IR average in seed cottons with AFIS maturity ratio ( M _AFIS ) in ginned cotton fibers exhibited a general trend of increasing M _AFIS with M _IR . On the basis of M _IR value, 3- M _IR (low-, mid-, and high-) fiber classification analysis implied the distinctions within seed cottons having close M _IR average, and among the same cultivar grown at different conditions. Additionally, cultivars with a similar maturity distribution varied in fiber crystallinity ( CI _IR ) distribution, and vice versa.