Speaker Notes

Written by: Dr. Trevor Mahar, Australian Wool Testing Authority Ltd.

This table lists the relative importance of the raw wool terms in the TEAM equation as judged by the statistical significance of the regression terms. The values correspond to the relative influence each term in the TEAM formula has on determining the Hauteur (H) of the top.

The most important term Staple Length has been assigned the value 100 for comparative purposes. The other terms are rated relative to 100.

This table shows the overwhelming importance of Staple Length and Staple Strength in influencing the average fibre length (H) in the top.

This makes sense, in that a long, strong wool will end up longer after processing compared to a short weak wool, all other factors being equal.

The positive influence of fibre diameter on average fibre length is also important but not as significant. This is NOT related to the fact that broader wool tends to be longer because the length factor is already accounted for by Staple Length. It may be due to the amount of entanglement the wool undergoes during processing. Fine wool entangles more and is subject to more fibre breakage during processing than coarse wool.

Mid-breaks have a negative influence on H. A greater percentage of mid-breaks means that more fibres which are about half the length of the original fibre will be retained in processing because they are too long to be combed out. On the other hand, the short fibres formed from a tip or base break are more likely to be removed in combing. Once a fibre is removed it can’t influence the average fibre length.

The amount of VM also has a slight negative influence. This makes sense in that it would be expected that the presence of VM would lead to a slight increase in fibre breakage thus lowering the average fibre length.