Genetic analysis of drought tolerance with respect to fiber traits in upland cotton.

Cotton germplasm was analyzed to investigate its potential for developing water stress tolerance in varieties in the future. Four tolerant (NIAB-78, CIM-482, BH-121, and VH-142) and four susceptible (CIM-446, FH-1000, FH-900, and FH-901) lines were identified of 50 accessions based on their seedling root length. A complete set of diallel crosses among eight selected genotypes was subjected to genetic analysis for fiber property traits. Additive and non-additive genetic variance was involved in the inheritance of fiber strength, fineness, and length under normal and drought conditions. A large proportion of genetic variance was additive, which was further supported by moderately high narrow-sense heritability estimates for the characters. Graphic representation of variance versus covariance also depicted additive gene activity with partial dominance and the absence of non-allelic interactions in trait inheritance. The results of this study suggest that drought tolerance of cotton genotypes can be improved through crosses among tolerant genotypes using conventional selection procedures in segregating generations.