The ITMF International Committee on Cotton Testing Methods (ICCTM) is making significant progress in understanding the sources and causes of stickiness in cotton. The Committee is working to develop a commercially relevant definition of stickiness and improved methods of measurement.
The ICCTM is meeting in Bremen, Germany, during the Cotton Week at the International Cotton Conference Bremen 2018.
During 2017, the ICCTM authorized a collaborative effort by the Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD), the Faserinstitut Bremen and the Bremen Cotton Exchange to conduct a Stickiness Round Trial. Two editions of the Round Trial were carried out in 2017. During each Round Trial, three cotton samples of various stickiness levels were each tested six times by each participant. Thirty-five laboratories using 12 methods of stickiness testing participated in the Round Trial.
Round Trial results varied widely, and it was not possible to map results from some stickiness testing methods to others. For instance, mechanical tests for stickiness and chemical tests for the presence of sugars are not fully comparable. However, different laboratories using the same testing methods achieved consistent results, indicating that it may be possible to agree on a standardized testing protocol.
There was a consensus among ICCTM members that prescriptions for the abatement of stickiness in spinning mills are dependent on the source and type of sugar involved.
