Effects of skirting on processing characteristics of Targhee wool

Ninety mature Targhee ewes were randomly allocated to nine lots. Lots were randomly assigned to three fleece preparation treatments: 1) nonskirted (control); 2) bellies removed, in which bellies and topknots were removed on the shearing floor; and 3) skirted, in which bellies and topknots were removed and remaining fleece was thrown on a table and lightly skirted. Bellies and topknots composed about 6 to 7% of the fleece weight. An additional 6.6% was removed when fleeces were skirted. Top fiber diameters were not affected (P greater than .10) by skirting. Although not significant (P greater than .10), percentage yield, vegetable content, percentage of noilage, top fiber length, and yellowness indexes tended to be most desirable for skirted lots and least desirable for unskirted lots. Lots with bellies removed were intermediate. Removal of bellies reduced vegetable contamination by 8.4%, with an additional reduction of about .5% by further skirting. Skirting reduced the number of fibers less than 25.4 mm (P less than .10) by 42%. Minimal colored fiber contamination of top was observed. One colored fiber per 15 g of top was detected in two lots of the treatment with bellies removed. All other lots contained no colored fibers. All wools evaluated were well below industry limits set for use in high-quality white or pastel fabrics. All skirted lots of wool evaluated in this study had improved processing characteristics for all processing traits evaluated.