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Early‐Maturing, Short‐Statured American Pima Cotton Parents Improve Agronomic Traits of Interspecific Hybrids
Author(s) -
Percy Richard G.,
Turcotte E. L.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
crop science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.76
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1435-0653
pISSN - 0011-183X
DOI - 10.2135/cropsci1991.0011183x003100030033x
Subject(s) - gossypium barbadense , hybrid , biology , cultivar , malvaceae , interspecific hybrids , yield (engineering) , interspecific competition , fiber crop , heterosis , horticulture , plant breeding , agronomy , botany , gossypium hirsutum , materials science , metallurgy
The commercial potential of interspecific cotton hybrids ( Gossypium hirsutum L. ✕ G. barbadense L.) remains unrealized due to several fiber‐quality deficiencies and the agronomic traits excessive vegetative vigor and generally slow maturation rates. This study examined whether four G. barbadense strains, bred for short stature and early maturity, favorably affect hybrid plant height, earliness, and lint yield. The four strains and the G. barbadense commercial cultivar Pima S‐6 (PS‐6) were crossed to short‐staple G. hirsutum cultivars McNair 235, Stoneville 506, TAMCOT SP21‐S, and AZ107 to produce F 1 hybrids. Hybrids and their parents were evaluated in replicated tests at Maricopa, AZ (1988), Safford, AZ (1988 and 1989), and Las Cruces, NM (1989). Maricopa is a low‐elevation desert site (358 m); Safford and Las Cruces are at 884 and 1180 respectively. The G. barbadense parents influenced hybrid plant height at Maricopa and Las Cruces, with PS‐6 producing the tallest hybrids. At Maricopa and Safford (1989), the later‐maturing PS‐6 parent produced later‐maturing hybrids and the early‐maturing strains 84514 and 8327 produced earlier‐maturing hybrids. Hybrid yields exceeded parent yields in the three higher‐elevation tests. The best hybrid yield exceeded the best parent yield (of either species) by 29.1% at Safford (1989), 49.1% at Safford (1988), and 87.5% Las Cruces. Significant G. barbadense contributions to hybrid yield performance were observed in all tests. At the three higher‐elevation locations, the best hybrid yields were obtained from crosses involving the early‐maturing, short‐statured strains 84514 and 8327. Under the higher‐elevation environments, which maximized hybrid yield heterosis, parent earliness was a better predictor of hybrid yield than was parent yield.