Identification of Drought Tolerant Cotton Germplasm and Associated Markers in the U.S. Upland Germplasm Pool

Drought is a complex trait, controlled by genotype, environment and genotype × environmental interactions. In this study, a set of 376 Upland cotton accessions collected from 14 states of the U.S. Cotton Belt, representing traditional cotton cultivars and breeding lines released between 1900s and 2005, were evaluated for drought tolerance.  Three replicated tests in the greenhouse were performed under both polyethylene glycol (PEG) and control conditions in a hydroponic system. Plant height, fresh shoot weight, fresh root weight, chlorophyll content, evapotranspiration, and stomatal conductance were measured. The presentation will report the progress that has been made so far.