Improving Egyptian Cotton (Gossypium barbadense) Using Double Crosses

Abstract

G ENETIC materials used in the present investigation included five cotton varieties belong to ( Gossypium barbadense, L.). Three of these varieties were long staple, BBB (big black boll) (P 1 ), Australian (P 2 ) and G97 (P 3 ) while the other two varieties were extra-long staple, Giza 92 (P4) and G96 (P5 ). Hybrids produced from these parents and the parents were evaluated in Sakha Agricultural Research Station, Kafr Al Sheikh Governorate, Egypt. Studied traits were; boll weight, number of bolls/plant, lint percentage, seed cotton yield, lint cotton yield, first fruiting node, days to first flower appearance, duration of the boll maturation, upper half mean (U.H.M), fiber strength and Micronaire value. Difference between single crosses and double crosses (DC) was highly significant for most studied traits. GCA mean squares in all studied traits were significant for F 1 except for days to first flower and fiber fineness (micronaire reading). GCA mean squares were significant for DC except for lint%, fiber length and days to first flower. A very important issue of double-cross hybrids is the arrangement of parents, i.e., order effect, in the hybrids.