Cotton is a multi-purpose crop that is harvested for fiber, feed, and as a food crop.

The cottonseed is crushed and turned into three products: oil, meal, and hulls.

 

Through research and cooperation with other 

universities and specialists, OSU’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences has created and compiled resources with the intent of helping producers have an efficient and successful harvesting season. 

 

Harvesting

Improper handling of seed cotton may impact profits for producers and ginners. Inclement weather and increased moisture may reduce the color grade and cause rot.

 

• Cotton Contamination Brochure
• Cotton Incorporated - Seed Cotton Handling and Storage
• Cotton Incorporated - Stripper Harvesting
• Cotton Incorporated - The Spindle-Type Cotton Harvester
• National Cotton Council's "Harvest Contamination Free Cotton"
• National Cotton Council Publications on Round Module Handling and Wrap Removal Techniques
• National Cotton Council Publications on harvesting and ginning quality preservation

 

Equipment

The information below well help the reader to become more acclimated to the Spindle-Type Cotton Harvest and the Stripper-type of harvesters.

 

• Spindle-Type Cotton Harvester (Picker)
• Stripper-type harvesters

 

Harvest Aids

The utilization of the small grain, whether intended as a cover crop, for grazing or forage and/or food use, may impact the cotton harvest aid use rate or plant back restriction to specific types of small grains. The best management option is to determine the end use of the small grain prior to selecting harvest aid products, as some products will eliminate some end use options for the small grain.

 

• 2017 OSU Harvest Aid Tables
• 2020 Cotton Harvest Aid Guide
• Crop Maturity Determination Combined Handout 2015
• PSS-2182: 2018 Oklahoma Cotton Harvest Aid Guide
• PSS-2190: Cotton Harvest Aid Considerations for Small Grains

 

Fiber Quality

The classification system for Upland cotton consists of classer leaf grade and extraneous matter (if any) and instrument measurements for color grade, fiber length, micronaire, strength, length uniformity index, color Rd, color +b, and trash percent area. All instrument
measurements currently utilized in USDA Upland cotton classification are from Uster High Volume Instrument (HVI)* systems.
*High Volume Instrument (HVI) is patented by Uster Technologies. 

 

• 2017-2018 PCCA CCC Loan Chart
• Recent Fiber Quality Trends
• The Classification of Cotton - USDA-AMS Handbook 566
• Understanding the HVI Data - USDA-AMS