Australia
August 14, 2009
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Manually decontaminating cotton before processing at an
Indian spinning mill.
Photo by: CSIRO |
A guide designed to help the
Australian cotton industry improve the quality of the fibre it
produces has been released by
CSIRO and the Cotton
Catchment Communities CRC (Cotton CRC).
“FIBREpak contains information for managing fibre quality at
every step, from variety choice and crop management through to
harvesting and ginning,” says project leader, CSIRO Plant
Industry’s Dr Mike Bange.
“Australian cotton is regarded worldwide as an excellent fibre
and, to enhance its competitiveness, CSIRO and the Cotton CRC
with the Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC)
continue to invest in research that aims to improve fibre
quality,” Dr Bange says.
“FIBREpak represents one part of this overall effort, with
investment in plant biotechnology, plant breeding, crop
production and post-harvest research conducted in Narrabri,
Geelong and Canberra.”
Variety, seasonal conditions, crop and harvest management, and
ginning can all determine whether or not commercial spinners’
requirements are met.
While some of these factors cannot be controlled, others such
as; the use of better varieties, management for each region’s
climate and processing to minimise fibre damage, present
opportunities to improve fibre quality.
“FIBREpak will improve the understanding of all those involved
in producing cotton fibre regarding what aspects of fibre
quality they can influence, quality management options and the
needs of the other participants in the supply chain,” Dr Bange
says. |
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