ENGINEERING AND GINNING Gross Monetary Returns for Conventionally Processed Cotton Cultivars

The Mississippi Regional Cotton Variety Trials (RCVT) from one location in 2002 and two loca-tions in 2003 were machine harvested and ginned in the microgin in Stoneville, MS, using a standard machine sequence. This allowed the cultivars to be evaluated in a manner similar to commercial ginning practices. Lint yields and HVI measure-ments were determined and used to calculate the monetary value of the lint and gross monetary return for each cultivar. Gross monetary return was associated with lint yield, and there were large differences in these factors among cultivars and test environments. The variation in lint value was larger among cultivars than among environments. Gross monetary return was calculated from lint yield and lint value, but increases in gross return with lint value were not statistically significant. Increased lint yield was associated with decreased fiber length and strength. Fiber quality determined for these cultivars was compared with the typical needs of both domestic and foreign markets. For fiber length, color, leaf, and uniformity, 93 % of the cultivars met the fiber quality demanded by the domestic market, but only 31 % met the base requirements of foreign mills. Seed cotton and fiber properties influence processing parameters as cotton is ginned and transformed into finished products. These properties are different between cotton cultivars and determine the value of the fiber; therefore, the selection of appropriate cotton cultivars is one of the first important production decisions. The USD