Non-insect related sticky cotton

Fibers from cotton {Gossypium spp.) may detrimentally adhere to textile processing machinery for a variety of reasons including stickiness. One of the most common causes of stickiness is sugar accumulation on the fiber. Honeydew excretion by whiteflies and aphids is one of the most common causes of sticky cotton worldwide. Since cotton fields on the High Plains are generally not infested by large populations of whiteflies, and aphid populations are sporadic, stickiness from honeydew is usually not a cause of stickiness. Other sources of stickiness may be sugars directly from the plant. In addition, seed coat fragments have been known to cause sticking problems at textile mills.

Cotton fibers which stick during textile processing are a costly problem for the growers, gins, and textile mills. Texas' cotton growers once produced fibers that were weak and short, resulting in large monetary discounts at the marketplace (12). With the development and utilization of cultivars with improved quality and the use of HVI (highvolume instrumentation) for accurate quality determinations, the inferior fiber discounts have been less common (12). The much improved West Texas fiber and the concomitantly improved reputation is now threatened by sticky cotton. Unfortunately there is no test incorporated into HVI to measure cotton's propensity to be sticky. Unless extraordinary measures are used, sticky bales of cotton are generally not detected until the textile mills begin using them and the damage is done. Even in regions with severe stickiness, most of the cotton is not contaminated, however the entire crop is often thought of as "sticky" (11). Therefore, regional growers may suffer significant economic loss even if their specific cotton is not sticky. It is estimated that a cotton crop labeled as "sticky" is discounted by 5-10% (11) . Identification and elimination of sticky cotton is vital to the reputation of West Texas cotton.