Measuring Cotton Fiber Length: The Truncated Array Method

Excerpts from the report Summary: This report is a summary of the investigation and evaluation of several suggested techniques and methods for measurement of the length of fibers in a sample of cotton. The study is part of a broad, continuing program of research to find or develop more efficient and more economical methods end practices in marketing cotton and other major farm products. In this study, a shorter technique for measuring the length of the fibers in a sample of cotton, called the truncated array technique, was compared with three other methods, including the customarily used Suter-Webb array method. The truncated array technique was found to provide results which are more valuable in several respects than the other methods studied, and to save about 15 percent of the time required for the usual Suter-Webb procedure. The truncated array technique is a variation of the widely used Suter-Webb array method and uses the same equipment. The various techniques and methods studied included the "Short" Suter-Webb array method, the modified array technique, the use of modal length as a length designation value, and the truncated array technique with "cutoff" points of 5/8 inch, 1/2 inch, 3/8 inch, and 1/4 inch.