ARS | Publication request: Fiber quality of cultivars and breeding lines in the cotton winter nursery and U.S. environments

Submitted to: Journal of Cotton Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: June 13, 2010
Publication Date: November 15, 2010
Citation: Hinze, L.L., Percy, R.G., Jones, D. 2010. Fiber quality of cultivars and breeding lines in the Cotton Winter Nursery and U.S. environments. Journal of Cotton Science. 14(3):138-144.

Interpretive Summary: The Cotton Winter Nursery (CWN) serves a vital role in the improvement of cotton, allowing U.S. breeders to produce two generations of cotton per year, increase seed for testing and distribution, and generally decrease the time for development of improved cotton varieties. The utility of the CWN could be further increased if it were demonstrated that fiber properties of cotton produced in the CWN are comparable and typical of fiber produced in the United States. Through analysis of fiber samples from cotton grown in the CWN and in U.S. environments, we demonstrated that fiber properties in the CWN are characteristic of fiber properties as measured in the United States and that screening and selection of breeding material may be conducted in the CWN. This will allow breeders to conduct active breeding and genetic advance in the CWN and shorten the time it takes to develop a cotton cultivar that will ultimately benefit cotton farmers.

Technical Abstract: Researchers in the United States routinely use the Cotton Winter Nursery (CWN), located in Tecoman, Mexico, for seed increase and generational advancement of breeding materials in cotton (Gossypium spp.). The objective of this study was to establish the typicality of fiber quality of materials grown in the CWN. High Volume Instrument (HVI) fiber quality parameters from cultivars and breeding lines were examined using correlations and principle component analysis as a means to determine similarities in germplasm response between the CWN and U.S. environments. The average U.S. location mean values for elongation, length, micronaire, strength, and uniformity, along with correlation means, appear not to differ substantially from the values obtained for these traits in the CWN. These data indicate that the CWN could serve as an additional environment to select for HVI fiber quality traits.