2016-05-06

Micronaire is generally used as a measure of maturity, which is true for a specific cotton variety (cultivar) and region. Nevertheless, more generically speaking, it is a function of both maturity and fineness, which affect textile processing and quality independently and differently. It is therefore important, particularly when different cotton varieties and growing regions are involved, to measure maturity and fineness separately, and these will be discussed separately below. Nevertheless, some research has indicated that, for Upland cottons, micronaire is as good as, if not better than, maturity in predicting yarn quality and dyeability. Chellamani et al, for example, found the following relationship between colour difference and difference in micronaire and immature fibre content.