The effect of storage time on fiber quality for cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) bales

This study has been carried out in order to find out the impact of storage time (5 months) for cotton bales in both humidified and non-humidified environment, ginned with Rollergin and Sawgin machine, over fiber quality features. In Rollergin and Sawgin bales kept in humidified environment, it has been detected that inner bale moisture increase was regular, and in non-humidified environment it was irregular with the time increase. It has been observed that storage type had not changed the weight value of Sawgin bales, bale weight values of Rollergin bales had decreased in non-humidified environment, and it had not changed in humidified environment. At the end of experiment, it has been detected that moisture content for Rollergin bales in humidified environment had increased from 6.52% to 7.19%, in Sawgin bales from 5.89% to 6.70%, and Rollergin bales in non-humidified environment had increased from 6.57% to 6.67%, in Sawgin bales from 5.91% to 6.22%. In Rollergin bales stored in different conditions, with the increase in storage time, it has been observed that micronaire (Mic) and elongation (Elg) values had decreased, maturity, reflectance (Rd) and trash ID (TrID) had increased; spinning consistency index (SCI), upper half mean length (UHML), uniformity (UI), short fiber (SF), fiber strength (Str), yellowness (+b), trash count (TrCnt) and trash area (TrAr) values had not changed at all. In Sawgin bales stored in different storing type, on the other hand, it has been detected that storage time had negatively affected maturity (mat) value, positively affected fiber strength (Str), elongation (Elg) and reflectance (Rd) values and had not caused any change in spinning consistency index (SCI), micronaire (mic), upper half mean length (UHML), uniformity (UI), yellowness (+b), trash count (TrCnt), trash area (TrAr) and trash ID (TrID) values. With the results taken from this study, it has been decided that 5 month storage time (January – May) in both humidified and non-humidified environment had generally not affected fibre quality features in a negative way.