History, Changes, Impacts, and Perspectives of the National Cotton Variety Test (NCVT): Sixty Years of the Program

The National Cotton Variety Test (NCVT) is a USDA-ARS national program to evaluate cotton varieties/lines developed by major U.S. cotton breeding programs for lint yield, fiber quality, and seed quality in annual trials across the U.S. Cotton Belt. This year is the 60th anniversary of the program, and this review article provides the background, leadership history, original objectives and their changes, and a summary of the impacts in cotton production and accomplishments of the program in cotton research. The NCVT history reflects the efforts of U.S. cotton breeders to improve cotton varieties by addressing environmental influences in cotton production and increasing competition in the global market of raw cotton fibers. The scientific accomplishments reviewed in this article can be used as references and guidelines for future cotton breeding.