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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 #158445
Title: BULKED-POLLEN METHODOLOGY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF RANDOM MATING POPULATIONS IN COTTON

Author
item Gutierrez, Osman
item BOWMAN, DARYL - NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIV
item Jenkins, Johnie
item McCarty, Jack
item WATSON, C - MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIV

Submitted to: Journal of Cotton Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/15/2006
Publication Date: 9/1/2006
Citation: Gutierrez, O.A., Bowman, D.T., Cole, C.B., Jenkins, J.N., McCarty Jr., J.C., Wu, J., Watson, C.E. 2006. Development of random-mated populations using bulked pollen methodology: Cotton as a model. Journal of Cotton Science. 10:175-179.

Interpretive Summary: Improved cotton fiber quality is important to the textile industry but combining the best agronomic qualities of the cotton plant with the best fiber quality has been difficult to cotton breeders. The problem has been that improvements in fiber quality came at the expense of lower yield. Breaking the negative link between fiber properties and lint yield so that both may be improved has been a major challenge. Methodology for this process has not been carefully studied. This study reports a breeding procedure called the bulked-pollen method, which was successfully used to resolve this problem. Pollen from two types of cotton were mixed in different ratios and cotton flowers were pollinated with each pollen mixture. Results indicated that cotton pollen mixed well and the boll and seed production were excellent. The bulked-pollen method is a good tool that can be used in the development of improved cotton varieties.

Technical Abstract: Random mating has been used successfully to break linkages in cross-pollinated crops. Random mating in self-pollinated crops requires pollen transfer, either by hand or insect vector. To simulate random mating among multiple parents requires methods not currently used by most cotton breeders. The objective of this study was to evaluate the utility of bulked-pollen methodology to simulate random mating in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Pollen from Stoneville 213 glandless (gl) and TM-1 glanded (GL) were mixed in five different proportions of 1:13, 1:26, 1:39, 1:52, and 1:65 by dusting pollen from a selected number of blooms into a beaker. Emasculated flowers from Stoneville 213 (gl) were pollinated with the different gl:GL pollen ratios. Percent boll set, total number of seeds, and number of glandless seeds for each ratio were determined. Pollen ratios of ratios of 1:13 and 1:65 segregated as expected. Ratio 1:26 showed a significant chi-square due to recovery of a larger number of gl seeds than expected. Ratios, 1:39 and 1:52, also did not segregate as expected because of the low number of gl seeds recovered. This was possibly due to the limited number of crosses that set bolls for these two ratios. Crosses containing Stoneville 825 nectariless (ne1ne1, ne2ne2) developed with this methodology were also assayed for the nectariless trait and the trait segregated as expected. Cotton pollen mixed well and the final boll set was excellent. The bulked-pollen method is a good tool that can be used in the development of breeding populations in cotton.