Location: Crop Germplasm Research
Project Number: 3091-21000-048-013-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Apr 27, 2026
End Date: Apr 28, 2028
Objective:
The goal of this project is to preserve, multiply, and make available the cotton germplasm held within the U.S. National Cotton Germplasm Collection (NPGS-COT), and to demonstrate its value to the scientific community. Activities will include increasing seed supplies, ensuring secure storage, and providing seed to researchers who request it. These genetic resources will be incorporated into research programs highlighting their importance for cotton improvement.
Approach:
Seed increases will be carried out continuously in greenhouse facilities at College Station. During the summer, regeneration will occur both in the College Station field nurseries and, during the winter, in the tropical growing conditions of the Cotton Winter Nursery in Liberia, Costa Rica. Manual self-pollination will be used to maximize seed production and reduce the possibility of cross-pollination. After harvest, seed will be ginned, cleaned, and stored in the on-site seed vault, which also serves as the source for filling seed requests. These germplasm resources will be applied in laboratory and field studies designed to broaden genetic variability and enhance fiber and seed traits. Standard experimental methods and statistical analyses will be used to evaluate and select superior materials.