Research Projects

Upland Gossypium hirsutum alone account for over 80 per cent of lint production in the world including India because of their high potential for productivity and demand from the textile industries. Gossypium hirsutum cotton exhibits heterosis and is the most widely cultivated species in the form of intra hirsutum hybrids. India is the highest producer of cotton with 120.7 lakh hactares area and 362.2 lakh bales (180 Kg. per bales) production with productivity of 510 kg/ha. (COCPC 2021-22). More than ninety percent of this cotton area is cultivated with intra hirsutum hybrids leading to huge investments in hybrid seed production per annum. Hybrids are produced manually by using conventional method of hand emasculation and pollination thus making hybrid seed production expensive. In the recent years, the serious problems of labour availability and the rising costs urgently calls for the use of the phenomenon of male sterility for heterosis cotton breeding which can help to reduce cost of hybrid seed production by about 70 per cent (Meshram et al., 1995). The development of GMS based heterotic cotton hybrids depends on the availability of diverse GMS lines. The development of GMS diverse lines consumes time. Hence the present proposal is proposed to diversify the GMS lines using male sterility genes ms5 and ms6 linked markers. Three F2 populations derived by crossing GMS-BGIIBt lines with three superior diverse hirsutum males will be used as the base material. The diverse GMS lines will be used to develop hybrids using four proven testers as males and will be evaluated for yield and fiber traits in the last year of the project in comparision with ruling commercial hybrids. The superior GMS based Bt hybrid combinations identified can be commercialized with reduced cost of seed production and reduced labour consumption. The diversified GMS BGII Bt lines with high general combining ability can be used in the hybrid breeding program. The validated molecular markers linked to the two male sterility genes can be used in cotton breeding programs.