Registration of CA 4007 cotton germplasm line for water‐limited production

Abstract

AbstractIncreasing demands for irrigation and declining water availability are becoming critical issues in the Texas High Plains, the primary cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) growing area of the United States. Developing breeding lines suitable for water‐limited production is an important objective of the Texas A&M AgriLife Research cotton breeding program in Lubbock. CA 4007 cotton germplasm (Reg. no. GP‐1062, PI 691459) was derived from a 1993 cross of Verhalen V83‐116 with CA 2159, informal historical releases developed by cotton breeding programs at Oklahoma State University and Texas A&M AgriLife Research in Lubbock, respectively. Performance testing for yield, fiber quality, and other related agronomic properties was conducted in rainfed and irrigated conditions during the 2007, 2008, and 2009 growing seasons. Based on yield performance and other agronomic properties, CA 4007 was included in experiments to evaluate cotton genotypes’ response to moisture stress and its impact on yield, fiber quality, and other agronomic traits. Results indicate that CA 4007 germplasm developed from lines released in two southwestern United States public breeding programs produced good yield and fiber quality under water‐limited production across several growing seasons when compared to commercial production check cultivars in the Texas High Plains.