Identification and Processing of Honeydew-Contaminated Cottons

The extreme stickiness of some 1977 Acala SJ California cottons was caused by localized areas of high sugar contamination tentatively identified as honeydew se cretions from whiteflies. Processing of these cottons under normal conditions was virtually impossible because of the stickiness. Tandem carding alleviated the problem at carding, but stickiness at roving still caused frequent disruptions in production because of roll lapping and end breaks. Application of a hydrocarbon plus surfactant additive to the cotton in the opening line eliminated the sticking problem in all phases of yam manufacturing.