Abstract

A test rig was developed to assess the magnitude of air flow rate required to effect pneumatic picking of cotton. The picking force was determined for the bolls of ten varieties. The regression analysis was carried out to establish the relationship between volume of boli and picking force. The linear, polynomial, logarithmic, power function and exponential relations were attempted. The corresponding R-squared values were also determined to see the goodness of fit. In 70E variety the highest average picking force of 307.4 g was recorded whereas in 'Savitha variety it was lowest (251.9 g). The picking force increased in direct proportion with volume of boll. The regression analysis revealed that the volume of boll has good linear relationship with picking force.

Keywords: Cotton, Picking force, Boll volume