Diallel Analysis of Three Confirmed Extra Long Staple Upland (ELSU) Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) Germplasm Lines

Cotton breeders have long desired to develop upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) cultivars with fiber quality equal to Pima cotton (Gossypium barbadense).  These efforts have utilized interspecific crosses among the two species and have had limited success.  In 2009, Smith et al. released eight ELSU germplasm lines derived from intraspecific crosses using Long Staple Upland (LSU) cotton lines.  One of the released lines, TAM B182-33 ELS, and TAM 94L-25 (LSU) were crossed to three confirmed ELSU lines from GRIN in a half diallel mating scheme.  Parents and progenies were grown in a Randomized Complete Block Design at Tecoman, Mexico (2009-10) and College Station (2010).  Means, General Combining, and Specific Combining Ability for fiber length, strength, micronaire, and elongation will be discussed.