Introduction:
Fiber maturity is a fiber characteristic that expresses the relative degree of thickening of the fiber wall. In the other words, it is the measure of primary and secondary wall thickness. Fiber will be mature if a high degree of wall thickening took place during cotton growth. The relation between immaturity count and fiber weight is as follows:
Relation between Immaturity Count and Fiber Weight
Let,
N = Rod like normal fibers,
D = Dead fibers (Ribbon)
H = Actual fiber weight per cm
Hs = Standard fiber wt. per cm
Peirce and Lord found N-D and H for several pure strains of cotton and within each series, only the maturity varied. A linear relationship was found between H and N-D:
H = 0.9370 (N-D) + 135.2
And, Hs = 0.9370 (67-7) + 135.2
According to standard counting,
The no. of normal fiber, N = 67
And the no. of dead fiber, D = 7
Now, we know,
……………………………H…….Actual fiber weight per cm
Maturity ratio, M =…… = ………………………………………
……………………………Hs……Standard fiber wt. per cm
…..0.9370 (N-D) + 135.2
= …………………………………
…..0.9370 (67-7) + 135.2
…..0.9370 (N-D) + 135.2
= ………………………………….
…………….191.42
= 0.0049 (N-D) + 0.706
………………………………………N-D
For rounded figure, M = …………… + 0.7
……………………………………….200
[It is the relation between immaturity count and fiber wt.]
The maturity ratio is therefore proportional to the degree of thickening of the cell wall.