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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Mississippi State, Mississippi » Crop Science Research Laboratory » Genetics and Sustainable Agriculture Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #138877
Title: PRIMITIVE ACCESSIONS OF COTTON AS GENETIC SOURCES FOR IMPROVING YIELD AND FIBER PROPERTIES

Author
item McCarty, Jack
item Jenkins, Johnie
item WU, J - MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIV

Submitted to: World Cotton Research Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2002
Publication Date: 5/1/2004
Citation: McCarty Jr., J.C., Jenkins, J.N., Wu, J. 2004. Primitive accessions of cotton as genetic sources for improving yield and fiber properties. World Cotton Research Conference Proceedings. p. 113-118.

Interpretive Summary: None required.

Technical Abstract: The breeding of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., to improve lint yield and fiber quality is an ongoing process. To meet textile mill requirements and producer demands both fiber quality and lint yield must be increased. The U. S. collection of primitive cotton accessions contains a broad range of variability for pest resistance and agronomic traits; however, because most of the accessions are photoperiodic, this variability is not readily useable by plant breeders. Day-neutral selections have been made that contain variability for agronomic and fiber traits. A study was conducted to compare yield and fiber properties when fourteen day-neutral lines derived from selected primitive accessions with high fiber strength were crossed as male parents to each of five commercial cultivars. The F2 hybrids and parents were grown in two different field locations in 1998 and 1999; whereas, the F3 hybrids and parents were grown in two locations in 2000. Hybrids and parents were evaluated for yield, yield components and fiber quality traits. Combination of locations and years were considered as environments for data analyses. All traits measured were significantly affected by environment with genotype by environment interactions. The cultivars had higher yields and lint percentages than the accession derived male parent lines. Fiber strength for male parents exceeded that of cultivars. The mean lint yield for F2 and F3 hybrids exceeded the mid-parent value within each environment. Lint percentage, boll size, micronaire, elongation, and fiber length were similar between F2 and F3 hybrids. Most traits were highly correlated between F2 and F3 generations; however, seed cotton yield and lint yield were not correlated between F2 and F3. Variance components analyses revealed that both additive and additive by additive epistasis effects were significant for all traits measured. Significance dominance effects were detected only for fiber elongation. The genetic model used in our study provided predicted values that were realistic for our data set. This study provides useful data for cotton breeding programs.