Over a fourth of the cotton produced in the US since 2002 has been produced in
Texas, with most coming from the High Plains. In recent years, Texas has accounted for
almost half of all US cotton production (USDA-NASS, 2008b). Most cotton on the
High Plains is of more storm-proof varieties that have traditionally been harvested using
stripper harvesters. However, improvements in irrigation technology and shifting
markets for US cotton have increased interest in picker harvesters in the region.
A holistic comparison of picker and stripper harvesters in irrigated cotton on
the High Plains of Texas was conducted focusing on differences in system efficiencies,
the costs of ginning, fiber and yarn quality, and potential economic returns under
comparable crop yields and conditions.
Harvester performance was evaluated based on harvest efficiency, time-inmotion,
and fuel consumption. Stripper harvesters left less cotton in the field, but most
of the cotton left by the picker was of low quality. While the time spent in each
operation of harvest was highly dependent on the operator and support equipment
available, in general, picker harvesters were able to harvest a unit area of high-yielding
cotton more quickly than stripper harvesters.
The cost of ginning picked and stripped cotton was evaluated considering current
fee schedules from gins on the High Plains. On average, it cost a producer $4.76 more
per bale to gin stripped-and-field-cleaned cotton than picked cotton. Fiber quality parameters were compared between harvest treatments based on
results from High Volume Instrument (HVI) and Advanced Fiber Information System
(AFIS) tests. Samples were ring-spun into carded and carded-and-combed yarns.
Differences in fiber quality between harvest treatments were more pronounced when
growing conditions were less favorable. Few differences were detected in carded yarn
quality between harvest treatments, while more pronounced differences favoring picked
cotton were seen in carded-and-combed yarns.
A cost-benefit analysis was conducted to determine the production scenarios in
which picker and stripper harvesters were most appropriate. Results indicate that, if a
producer has sufficient yields coupled with sufficient area to harvest per machine, picker
harvesting is a more profitable alternative to producers of on the High Plains.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2008-08-42 |
| Date | 16 January 2010 |
| Creators | Faulkner, William B. |
| Contributors | Shaw, Bryan W. |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
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