Prospects of Glandless Cotton Production in New Mexico

Glandless cotton has negligible gossypol content in plant tissue and seeds. The absence of gossypol, which is a polyphenolic aldehyde, toxic when consumed in large quantities by non-ruminants, makes the glandless cottonseed a much more valuable cotton byproduct. Glandless cottonseed can be used as protein replacement in human food and animal feed, particularly in aquaculture. Also, the oil pressed from the glandless cottonseeds requires little refinement for edible uses. Producing glandless cotton at commercial scales may be challenging because gossypol which act as natural deterrent against insect pests is absent. The viability of field production of glandless cotton has been evaluated from 2010-2013 in New Mexico. New Mexico has less pest pressure in cotton than in the recent past, due to the eradication of major cotton pests such as pink bollworm and boll weevil. Results over the past 4 years suggest that glandless cotton can be produced within New Mexico and may not incur yield penalties from insect losses noted in other states. Field trials reveal that average lint yields of the three glandless cotton cultivars (Acala-GLS, STV-Glandless and JACO-Glandless), currently being evaluated in New Mexico ranged from 1000 to 1400 kg/ha; while the cottonseed yields ranged from 1500 to 1700 kg/ha. Acala-GLS generally had better fiber quality with micronaire in the premium range, while the two other glandless varieties had micronaire in the base range. Fiber length, the uniformity index and fiber strength were also better in Acala-GLS compared to JACO- and STV-Glandless. More research efforts are needed to improve the lint and seed yields of glandless cotton through agronomic optimization and breeding of cultivars that are more adapted to the New Mexico’s high arid to semi-arid environment. In addition, glandless cotton may require more intensive management in terms of pest monitoring, for early detection of any outbreak.