Staple Varieties Research Articles

THE IMPACT OF NEW SPINNING TECHNOLOGIES ON THE EGYPTIAN COTTONS

Abstract The yarns spun on the compact spinning system are characterized by higher tenacity, higher elongation at break, smaller mass irregularity measured at short segments, and significantly lower hairiness in comparison with yarns spun on the conventional ring spinning frame. For the Long Staple Egyptian cotton varieties, the breaking force or single yarn strength of the compact yarn (with a nominal linear density of 15tex spun from Long-Staple cottons) was 17.63% higher than the conventional ring spun yarn, while for the Extra-fine carded yarns spun from Extra-Long Staple varieties (it was around 7.0%). This means that, the compact spinning system is more useful for Long Staple cottons and coarse and medium counts than for the Extra Long Staple cottons and finer counts.

Factors Affecting Adoption of Long Staple Cotton Variety among Smallholder Farmers in Zimbabwe

The changing requirements of the international cotton market have created the need for continual investment in new technological innovations in developing countries. The main objective of this research was to identify factors that affect the adoption of Long Staple (LS9219) variety among smallholder cotton farmers in Matepatepa communal area of Mashonaland Central province of Zimbabwe. A total of 75 farmers were selected using stratified sampling and a structured questionnaire administered at the farm level. A binary logistic regression model was used to investigate adoption of the LS9219 variety. Results of the survey showed that the economic returns per hectare for the traditional (SZ9314) and LS9219 were not statistically different at the 5% level. Most farmers were aware of the new cotton variety. Agricultural credit was found to have a positive and significant effect on adoption. On the other hand, large farm size was negatively associated with adoption of LS9219 variety. These findings point to the need for a holistic approach in which agricultural credit and sufficient price premiums for long staple varieties are central for longterm sustainability.

Panel Discussion: Regional Action Priorities

Action priorities for reducing iron deficiency vary across regions. Some regions have limited experience with national programs, such as in the republics of Central Asia, where the focus since independence has been on assessment, advocacy and scaling up of interventions. In more developed regions the priorities are improving established programs and addressing the needs of the remaining subpopulations with high rates of iron deficiency. The etiology of anemia, whether multi-factorial as in Sub-Saharan Africa or mostly due to iron deficiency as in the Middle East and North Africa, is an important factor shaping the choice of strategies. Some interventions are particularly feasible in some settings and are being promoted aggressively, such as flour fortification in Latin America and the Middle East and North Africa, or the fortification of condiments in Asia. The quality of the health infrastructure and resources in general also determine the mix and scale of interventions implemented. A lesson for all regions is that countries in North America and Europe, where diets are varied and abundant and infections nearly absent, generally support multiple strategies that include nutrition education, supplementation and fortification of a variety of staples consumed by toddlers and the general population. Monitoring and evaluation efforts have proven necessary for improving quality and for advocacy.

Virginia Commodity Prices during the Panic of 1819

Investigating the impacts of the Panic of 1819 in Virginia, data regarding the Commonwealth's exports and commodity prices have been generated that may prove of interest to those studying this critical period of the early national economy. In an economy dominated by agriculture, falling commodity prices certainly must have contributed significantly to the deepening of Virginia's depression in the years following the Panic.' The Commonwealth produced a wide variety of staples and was the nation's leading producer of tobacco as well as a major wheat grower.2 Moreover, the export market for these goods was critical for the Commonwealth. For example, in the years 1817 and 1818, Virginia exported 58.9 percent and 67.2 percent, respectively, of the American tobacco inspected for export. Led by an economic downturn in Great Britain, reinforced by recession in Europe, and adversely affected by the operations of the British Corn Laws, the demand for American staples, and particularly the agricultural commodities produced in Virginia, dropped beginning in 1819.4 Chart 1 indicates the movement in United States and Virginia exports for the years 1816-1823. Between 1818 and 1821 the real value of the state's exports fell 36.8 percent compared with a drop of 15.7 percent for the nation as a whole.5 Table 1 provides data for exports (in current dollars) of the nation, the Commonwealth, and the port of Norfolk in the years 1816-1823 and indicates the annual percentage changes in both current and real terms. The downward trend experienced by American and Virginia exports after 1818 is evident as is the impact of the American Navigation Acts that effectively closed the port of Norfolk to international trade, primarily with the British West Indies.6 From contributing 28.7 percent and 45.9 percent of the value of Virginia's exports in 1816 and 1817 respectively, by 1821 Norfolk was providing barely a trickle of goods to foreign markets! One result, stemming from this collapse of the market for Virginia's commodities, was a significant deflation! Chart 2 shows movements in a monthly Richmond commodity price index beginning in January 1816 and continuing through the end of the year 1823. The equal-weighted index9 is based on prices current for six commodities in the Richmond market as reported in the Richmond Enquirer on a date closest to the fifteenth of each month. The six prices used to construct the index include corn, corn meal, wheat, flour superfine, tobacco, and hemp. Although prices of a number of other commodities are reported during this time period, none are sufficiently consistent to be used in constructing the index, and the reports before 1816 are too sporadic to allow an index to be developed.10 The monthly price observations for the six commodities are provided in Table 2 and Chart 3. The most striking feature of price movements during the period is the spectacular drop during 1819 and the continued decline into 1821. From a high of 85.19 in November 1818, the index fell to a low of 44.19 in February 1821, a 48.1 percent decline. To put the Virginia experience in perspective, Chart 4 shows prices in the United States for the period 18 101830. Inflation during the War of 1812 is clearly evident, although it also appears that by the time the Richmond commodity price index begins in January 1816, much of the wartime run up in prices had disappeared from the economy. With the coming of the depression of 1819-1821, prices in the nation begin a long slide that continued, with a break in the mid-1 830s, until the eve of the Civil War. The impact of the 1819-1821 depression appears most clearly in the Warren-Pearson wholesale price index that shows that prices by the end of the depression in 1821 had moved well below their pre-war level. The David-Solar cost-of-living index indicates a less dramatic fall during the crisis following the Panic of 1819, but confirms the long decline in prices from their wartime highs and indicates again that the decline after 1818 brought prices well below their pre-war levels. …

Effect of plant growth regulators on in vitro fiber development from unfertilized and fertilized Egyptian cotton ovules

Unfertilized and fertilized ovules of Gossypium barbadense Giza 45 (extra long staple variety) were used to study the effect of plant growth substances (auxins, gibberellins and cytokinins) on in vitro fiber initiation and development. Kinetin, alone did not increase total fiber unit (TFU) of unfertilized ovules, while an increase in TFU value occurred when a constant level of IAA and GA3 were used either separately or in combination in the liquid medium. GA3 used alone, produced a higher TFU value than that produced by IAA, whilst, IAA with a constant level of GA3 (5 μM) produced the highest value of TFU. GA3 with a constant level of IAA (5 μM) produced a lower TFU value. Kinetin reduced the stimulatory effect of IAA and GA3 on TFU value when used in combination with either substance. In fertilized ovules, the highest level of TFU was reached when IAA, with a constant level of GA3, was added to the medium, whilst its lowest level was obtained when IAA was used alone. Estimation of in vitro fiber production, as well as the effect of growth substances used in different concentrations on in vitro fiber initiation and development from unfertilized and fertilized ovules of Egyptian cotton varieties Gossypium barbadense Giza 45 are discussed.

Coronado’s Querechos and Teyas in the Archaeological Record of the Texas Panhandle

The chronicles of the Coronado expedition of 1541 record the presence of two groups inhabiting the Llano Estacado region of the southern High Plains. These groups, referred to as Querechos and Teyas, were prototypic Plains nomads, specializing in the hunting and processing of bison, whose products they traded to the Pueblo farmers of the Southwest for a variety of agricultural staples and craft items. Recent studies of archaeological remains in the Texas Panhandle have led to the recognition of two distinct protohistoric occupations, known as the Tierra Blanca and Garza complexes. The possible identification of these complexes with the Querechos and Teyas of the Coronado narratives is discussed, as is their relationship to historic Athapaskan and Caddoan peoples of the region. The significance of these interpretations to the study of protohistoric Plains-Pueblo interaction is also analyzed.

Poland in Crisis

POLAND IN CRISIS Ronald D. Asmus S1 Ftalin is said to have once remarked to Polish Premier Stanislaw Mikolajczyk that communism would fit Poland like a saddle fits a cow. True to that analogy, after three decades of"socialist construction," the forced fit ofSoviet-style communism on Polish society is causing severe strain, as demonstrated by the massive labor upheavals which have played havoc with the nation's political and economic system and sent shock waves through both East and West. Never before in the Soviet bloc has a stunned and weakened communist party been forced to recognize the workers' right to strike and independently organize themselves —a precedent that has raised both fears and hopes concerning the future. Yet, short of drastic changes in Europe's geopolitical realities, Poland will remain a socialist state. With Soviet troops reported to be increasingly active along the Polish border at this writing, a detailed analysis ofthe labor strikes and their consequences is clearly premature. Even so, it is useful to identify recent trends in Poland, and in U.S. relations with Eastern Europe as a whole, if only as a backdrop to an unfinished—and unsettling— drama. Often a forgotten area in American foreign policy, Eastern Europe once again occupies an important place on the world stage, and on the policy agenda of the United States. The wave of strikes in Poland was triggered in July 1980 by a government decision to increase the share ofmeat to be sold at premium prices in the commercial shops. At first glance, the quantity of meat involved—about 2 percent oftotal sales—appears relatively small. Yet Ronald D. Asmus is a candidate for the ??. degree at SAIS, and the holder ofthe first Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty Fellowship in East German Affairs. During the summer of 1980, he served as a research analyst with Radio Free Europe in Munich. 107 108 SAIS REVIEW the event was politically important because meat consumption has been a status symbol in Poland, with many people willing to tolerate other deprivations in order to have meat. Lack of sensitivity to these sentiments played a major role in past labor unrest, both in 1970 and 1976. The Polish authorities, however, apparently did not heed their past lessons, for the July measures were introduced without prior notice or serious attempts at consultation with any social organizations. Resentment was particularly fierce due to a widespread feeling that increased meat cost would be only the first stage in a quiet attempt to raise prices on a variety of staples. The response of the Polish workers was immediate and broadbased . Strikes were first reported to have taken place at factories around Warsaw, Gdansk, and Lodz on July 2. By the middle of August, unrest had snowballed into an avalanche, with more than 300,000 workers laying down their tools. What had started as a protest over price hikes soon developed an ominous political tone as workers refused to be satisfied with proposed wage increases. They demanded institutional guarantees that their interests be safeguarded in the future by calling for "independent" trade unions free ofgovernment supervision. In an unprecedented development in a communist country, large numbers of workers in the Baltic area in and around Gdansk set up a joint committee—the Interfactory Strike Committee (MKS)—and articulated a single list of concessions not only for themselves but for all Polish workers. By the end of August, with the Polish economy at a standstill and Western analysts on the edges oftheir seats, workers and authorities engaged in a high-pressured game ofnerves over the future political and economic evolution of Polish society. A turning point came on August 24 when then party chiefEdward Gierek, in an attempt to appease the striking workers, announced the sacking of six Politburo members, admitted that mistakes had been made, and promised new reforms for the future. In addition, a new set of party officials was sent to Gdansk to negotiate directly with the strikers' chosen representatives. The change in both the tone and the substance of the government's position indicated a greater willingness to come to terms with the workers and a realization that the party's original strategy...

THE KAPAS MARKET AT DINDIGUL-A STUDY IN THE LOCAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE PRICES

It will be noticed at once that the staple variety of the Dindigul region is Cambodia unirrigated. Dry Cambodia is rather a speciality for Dindigul; for except in the Avanasi Taluq, it is raised everywhere as an irrigated crop. The hills that encircle the entire region are the cause for this peculiarity. The water that falls on the hills percolates through the soil and provides the necessary moisture for plant growth, and hence the raising of dry Cambodia Cotton. Another peculiarity of this cotton is that the area fluctuates very widely according to the state of rainfall. If the rainfall is poor, the acreage, perforce, is reduced and vice-versa. The area under the other varieties remains more or less constant, unless price changes are sufficiently high or low to cause either an expansion or a contraction. The yield again is poor-that of the dry Cambodia is only about 200 lbs., but the irrigated variety gives about 900 lbs., per acre. Low yield is accounted for by late sowing which the ryots adopt and by heavy rainfall at the close of October, when the growth of the plants is affected.