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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 #99676
Title: GENES FROM EXOTIC GERMPLASM AND THEIR USES IN CULTIVAR IMPROVEMENT IN GOSSYPIUM HIRSUTUM L. AND G. BARBADENSE L.

Author
item McCarty, Jack
item Percy, Richard

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/1/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Cotton is an economically important crop that is grown throughout the world as a source of fiber, food and feed. Worldwide, cotton is a major export commodity. The most widely grown species worldwide is Gossypium hirsutum or Upland cotton. In the United States over 95 percent of the cotton acreage is planted to Upland cultivars with the balance to G. barbadense, Pima cultivars. The continued viability of cotton as a competitive crop is dependent upon continued research and improvement of the germplasm base. The identification and transfer of desirable traits from germplasm sources to adapted cultivars is an ongoing process in applied cotton breeding programs. Accessions in the U.S. Cotton Collection are a valuable source of genes for pest resistance, agronomic and fiber traits. Their utilization has been limited because many of the accessions are photoperiodic. Day-neutral germplasm lines have been developed and are available for use in cotton improvement programs. The G. barbadense species has exceptional fiber quality traits, which have been used to improve Pima and Upland cultivars. Current and obsolete G. barbadense cultivars have contributed pest resistance traits to both species. Primitive G. barbadense accessions represent a virtually untapped and uncharacterized resource. Both collections, G. hirsutum primitive accessions and G. barbadense species, offer a vast array of traits that can be exploited to improve modern day cultivars of cotton.

Technical Abstract: Cotton, Gossypium spp., is an economically important crop that is grown throughout the world as a source of fiber, food and feed. Worldwide, cotton is a major export commodity and the most widely grown species is G. hirsutum. In the United States over 95 percent of the cotton acreage is planted to G. hirsutum cultivars with the balance to G. barbadense cultivars. The viability of cotton as a competitive crop is dependent upon continued research and improvement of Gossypium germplasm. The identification and transfer of desirable traits from germplasm sources to adapted cultivars is an ongoing process in applied cotton breeding programs. G. hirsutum and G. barbadense accessions in the U.S. Cotton Collection are a valuable source of genes. The G. hirsutum accessions contain a wealth of variability for pest resistance, agronomic and fiber traits. Their utilization has been limited because many of the accessions are photoperiodic. Accessions have been converted to day-neutrality and germplasm lines have been developed and are available for use in cotton improvement programs. The G. barbadense species has exceptional fiber quality traits, which have been used to improve G. barbadense and G. hirsutum cultivars. Current and obsolete G. barbadense cultivars have contributed pest resistance traits to both species. Primitive G. barbadense accessions represent a virtually untapped and uncharacterized resource. The germplasm collections of G. hirsutum primitive accessions and G. barbadense species offer a vast array of traits that can be exploited to improve modern day cotton cultivars.