Selection of Cotton Varieties in a Competitive Nursery in the South of Kazakhstan

Abstract

The Turkestan region is a cotton-growing zone in the south of Kazakhstan, which is the northernmost cotton-growing zone in the world. 115-125 thousand hectares of medium-staple cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) are cultivated here annually, of which 80-85 thousand hectares are sown in the Maktaaral and Zhetysay districts. This region is highly susceptible to salinity, drought, invasion of dangerous pests (cotton budworm, beet borer, spider mites, aphids), and diseases (fusarium blight (wilt), gummosis). Considering the high salt content in the arable soil horizon, the aridity of the climate of the Turkestan region are the main limiting factor of the region, and selection and genetic methods is the most effective and economical way to reduce their negative impacts on cultivated vegetation, then research work on the study and creation of new resistant cotton varieties in these soil and climatic conditions are relevant. Considering all the above problems, scientists of the Agricultural Experimental Station of Cotton and Melon Growing LLP have set themselves the goal of creating heat- and drought-resistant, precocious cotton varieties with high productivity, resistance to salinization, diseases, pests, possessing high technological qualities as the yield and quality of fiber of types III-IV, based on previously obtained ones during hybridization of intraspecific and interspecific lines of families. For 30 years, scientist-breeders of Kazakhstan have created 13 varieties of medium-fiber cotton, of which 8 are approved for use in the Turkestan region in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The research method is based on hybridization, multiple selection, and testing of offspring by the half method, according to the full diallel scheme (first Griffing model for F1). The created seven varieties PA-3031, PA-3044, M-4005, M-4007, M-4011, Bereke-07, Myrzashol-80, and M-4017 are zoned for more than 92% of the acreage in cotton-growing farms in the south of Kazakhstan, for the variety M-5027, which is resistant to pests, the patent has been issued 2021 and in 2022 it is planned to enter it into the register of approved varieties.