Combining ability for fiber quality parameters and within-boll yield components in intraspecific and interspecific cotton populations

H Basal,O Canavar,A Unay,I Yavas

doi:10.5424/sjar/2009072-428

Abstract

The major problem with the simultaneous improvement of yield with higher fiber quality is the negative association due to the linkage and pleiotropic effects between lint yield components and fiber quality parameters. The objectives of this research were to estimate the general combining ability (GCA) of parents and specific combining abilities (SCA) of hybrids for fiber quality parameters and within-boll yield components, and to determine the association of fiber quality parameters with basic within-boll lint yield components. In this study, eight cotton cultivars and 15 F1 hybrids obtained by crossing five lines and three testers in the line x tester mating system during 2006 were planted in a randomized block design with four replications in 2007. The predominance of non-additive gene action was estimated for all traits except for the upper half mean fiber length (UHM), fiber strength, and seeds per boll, which were controlled by an additive type gene action due to the high GCA variance. Among the parents, 'Askabat-100' and 'Carmen' were the best general combiners for fiber length, strength, and uniformity index (UI). Additionally, 'GW Teks' and 'Sahin-2000' were determined to be good combiners for lint weight per seed (L/S) and spinnable fibers per seed (F/S). The SCA effects showed that the best specific combination was 'Sealand-542' x 'Sahin-2000' and 'TAM 94L-25' x 'SG-125' for lint percentage, L/S, and lint weight unit per seed surface area. The most important fiber quality parameters, UHM, fiber strength, and UI, were negatively associated with the most basic within-boll lint yield components, L/S, and F/S.

Highlights

Breeding programs continue to develop new cotton varieties to meet the requirements of both producers and consumers
Significant differences were detected among parents and hybrids in both fiber quality parameters and within-boll yield components, indicating the presence of genetic diversity among them (Table 1)
general combining ability (GCA) variances were higher than specific combining abilities (SCA) variances for upper half mean fiber length (UHM), fiber bundle strength (Str.) and seeds/boll (S/B), which indicates additive gene action for these traits

Summary

Introduction

Breeding programs continue to develop new cotton varieties to meet the requirements of both producers and consumers. New spinning and weaving technologies in the textile industry mandate that plant breeders and geneticists develop cultivars of upland cotton with improved fiber quality, especially fiber strength, fiber length, and length uniformity without sacrificing yield potential. Previous studies report that the negative association resulting from the linkage connections and pleiotropic effects between lint yield and fiber quality, and especially between yield and fiber strength, has hampered the simultaneous improvement of these two important characteristics in cotton (Scholl and Miller, 1976; Worley et al, 1976; Culp et al, 1979; Green and Culp, 1990; Basal and Smith, 1997; Smith and Coyle, 1997). A number of breeding methods have been proposed to overcome the negative correlations between fiber quality parameters and lint yield components (Jensen, 1970; Meredith and Bridge, 1971; Basal and Smith, 1997; Coyle and Smith, 1997; Basal and Turgut, 2003; Herring et al, 2004; Ahuja and Dhayal, 2007)

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