Sampling Variation Over A Fleece For Mean Fibre Diameter, Standard Deviation Of Fibre Diameter And Mean Fibre Curvature

Abstract

This paper is a preliminary report that estimates the levels of variance between strains of animals from the same management system, and between sites on animals for the fibre characteristics of Mean Fibre Diameter (MFD), Standard Deviation of Fibre Diameter (SDD) and Mean Fibre Curvature (MFC). The variation over a fleece for Mean Fibre Diameter showed the normal dorso-ventral and posterior-anterior trends. Very little is known about the variability of Mean Fibre Curvature and Standard Deviation of Fibre Diameter over animals. This paper examined the variability of MFD, SDD and MFC over 9 sites for 3 strains of sheep. Measurements were made on both the LASERSCAN and the OFDA100. The trends of all three measurements over the fleece were compared. Different sheep exhibited different ranges in measured wool characteristics over their fleeces.

As MFC is now creating a great deal of interest among wool producers, the use of MFC as a selection tool was discussed, with particular emphasis on site selection. Sites for sampling were chosen to measure the MFC of three strains of animals: Fine, Medium-Peppin and Broad wool merino strains. 

Citation

"Sampling Variation Over A Fleece For Mean Fibre Diameter, Standard Deviation Of Fibre Diameter And Mean Fibre Curvature", V.E. Fish, T.J. Mahar & B.J. Crook, Paper 32, Wool Industry Science & Technology Conference, October 2002, Hamilton, Victoria, Australia