Abstract

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is an important fiber crop all over the world as well as in Pakistan. But the production of cotton crop is low due to biotic and abiotic factors. As boll is the basic determinant for yield in cotton crop, therefore a study on within boll yield parameters was carried out using 24 cotton bulk and 2 check varieties to check their variability for within boll components. The experiment was performed in the research area of the department ot Plant Breeding and Genetics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. The genotypes were seeded in two replications following a randomized complete block design. Data were recorded at maturity for different traits including seed cotton yield, number of seeds per boll, boll weight, seed index, lint index, seed mass per boll, lint mass per boll, GOT%, seed volume, seed density, seed surface area and fiber related traits. Data were subjected to analysis of variance to check significance among different genotypes. Genotypes were significantly different. Basic statistical values like maximum or minimum value, standard error of mean and variance were calculated. Seed cotton yield, number of seeds per boll, boll weight, seed index, lint index, seed mass per boll, GOT %, seed volume, seed density, fiber length, fiber fineness and fiber strength showed high heritability with higher genetic advance. The genotype PB-132 performed best for most of the parameters including GOT %, lint index, lint mass per seed and seed density. The findings of the current study revealed the potential of different bulks of cotton for the development of high yielding varieties. This information may be used to devise breeding strategies to enhance cotton production and variety development.

Keywords: Cotton breeding, fiber quality traits, genetic variability