Fleece Production, Scouring Yield, and Down Hair Yield of Tunisian Dromedary

• Published in: Journal of natural fibers 2014-04, Vol.11 (2), p.113-120
• Main Authors: Taoufik, Harizi, Moslah, Mekki, Slah, Msehli, Faouzi, Sakli
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: analysis of variance; animal age; animal hair; bioscouring; camels; Camelus dromedarius; cashmere wool; down yield; dromedary; fabrics; fibres; fleece; scoured yield
• ISSN: 1544-046X; 1544-0478; 1544-046X
• DOI: 10.1080/15440478.2013.849643

The results show that the greasy fleece weight varied from 0.3 kg to 2.42 kg with an average of 0.75 kg. The fleece weight decreases according to the animal age. In fact, the factor “age” has a significant effect on the dromedary fleece weight. Average scoured yield was 96% with V% of 1.6%. This indicated that matter loss, after scouring dromedary fibres, was lower than wool and cashmere. Scoured yield did not vary between samples of varied dromedary body areas in any age. The down hair yield for the fleece of the Tunisian dromedary varies between 34% and 61% with a mean of 45%. This raises interest when compared to the cashmere yield. There is a clearly decreased dromedary down hair yield according the factor “age”. The analysis of the variance shows that the dromedary down hair yield was affected by the factors “age” and body area of the animal. Following this work it will be possible to predict the amount of down yield in the fleece of Tunisian dromedary knowing age. Consequently, it will be possible to estimate the total amount of textile material camel from dromedary located in Tunisia.