Origin of Seed Coat Fragments in Ginned Lint

摘要

Seed coat fragment (SCF) contamination in cotton bales causes processing problems in textile plants. This experiment was designed to determine the origin of SCF by tracking their occurrence through a conventional sequence of gin machinery. On average,there were 8.82 SCF totaling 12.65 mg and averaging 1.45 mg in each gram of lint before lint cleaning. Tests on lint after the lint cleaner showed a 60% reduction in the weight of SCF. Lint cleaner waste analysis provided similar results and showed thatheavier SCF were removed. Seed meats found in the seed roll showed that 0.8% of seed were destroyed accounting for 30% of SCF formed in the gin stand. Small seed eliminated from the distribution by the gin stand were 2.3% of all seed ginned and accounted for 14% of SCF formed in the gin stand. Seed that were damaged in the gin stand but remained intact were 7% of all seed, but there was no estimate for SCF resulting from this damage. There were 4.5 mg SCF/g lint found in seed cotton at the gin stand feeder, and seed meats found in seed cotton cleaner trash explained only 1.0 mg SCF/g lint. Most seed meats (57%) were found in the first seed cotton cleaner, so much of the damage before ginning may have occurred in the field. These preliminary results suggest that small/immature seed were more likely to form SCF as they passed through the gin stand. Seed destroyed in the gin stand was the major source of SCF, followed by seed that were only damaged in the gin stand.