Abstract
Raw cotton from 4 machine picked varieties and 2 machine stripped varieties is examined by stereomicroscope and bright-field microscopy for presence of plant trash (bract, leaf, stem, seed, boll, and weed fragments—size range 841-2000 μm) that gives rise to cotton dust during yarn manufacturing operations. Bract was found to be the major trash component in all raw cottons examined. Cotton leaf and non-cotton weed materials were also major trash components in most raw cottons.