The effect of quarantine-level gamma irradiation on cotton fiber and its subsequent textile processing performance

Quarantine treatments of raw cotton fiber with gamma irradiation are known to have an adverse effect on fiber properties and thus could have an effect on processing into textile products. In this study, the effects of such irradiation treatments on two different cottons, cultivars of Upland and Extra Long Staple, were studied. Even at low dosages, gamma irradiation affects the physical properties of the fiber, with these effects becoming more apparent and significant as the dosage increased. While the affect on moisture regain was marginal, dye affinity was adversely affected. From a textile processing performance and quality point of view, the irradiation dosages did not have a significant impact on the yarn evenness and imperfection values, but did have a significant effect on yarn strength and elongation, as well as fabric strength and abrasion resistance. The degradation of these properties could have a significant to catastrophic effect on product durability.