Relationship between fiber quality and follicle density in Ch'aku llamas (Lama glama)

In the high altitudes of the Andes, llama breeders shear the fiber from their animals, obtaining fleeces for many purposes. Dehairing the fleece of these animals is a viable alternative to improving the quality and value of the fleece. The study examined the attributes of fiber quality and pilose follicle of dehaired and non-dehaired fleece from Ch'aku llamas and the relationship among these characteristics. From 80 animals, 480 fleece samples (240 dehaired and 240 non-dehaired), and 198 skin biopsies of dehaired specimens were collected. The data was analyzed using a model that contain fleece type effect, age group effect, sex effect, body region effect, and their respective interactions. Also, the Spearman correlation between fiber quality attributes and pilose follicle traits was calculated. The findings showed that non-dehaired fiber had a diameter of 22.01 ± 0.17 µm, while dehaired fiber measured 20.85 ± 0.16 µm. Removing the hair from the fiber resulted in a decrease in the average fiber diameter, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation while increasing the comfort factor and curvature index. The age group had an impact on primary follicles, secondary follicles, follicular density, and follicular index. Furthermore, gender influenced secondary follicles and follicular density, whereas body region affected secondary follicles and follicular density. Negative correlations were observed between mean of follicular density (MFoD) and mean fiber diameter (MFD), as well as curvature ratio (CRV), whereas a positive correlation was found between mean of follicular index (MFoI) and MFoD, and a negative correlation was noted between MFoI and CRV. It is concluded that the dehairing of the Ch'aku llama fiber improves the quality of the fleece.