Effects of harvesting practices on the properties of cotton fibers and yarn, yield and grade were studied for three comercial varieties: IAC 13-1, IAC RM3 and IAC RM4-SM5. The results obtained point out that there was no interation between harvesting practices and varieties. Hand-picked cotton always gave better yield during ginning, with less percentage of breaking. With exception of micronaire, that was better for machine-picked cotton, no difference was observed for the other tecnological properties, when hand-picked cotton and machine-picked cotton were compared. The average grade index for all the experiments was about one grade and a half better for the lint of hand-picked cotton.