History and Success of the Regional Breeder Testing Network (RBTN)

The Regional Breeder Testing Network (RBTN) was established in 2002 to pool the resources of US public cotton breeders to allow for multi-location testing of elite lines across all major US cotton producing states. Long term test sites have been established and testing protocols have been refined with a primary goal of assisting breeders in their efforts to characterize and identify superior performing breeding lines. In addition to multi-location yield testing, breeding lines are also evaluated for pest resistance and characterized for several morphological traits. The RBTN also serves as a vehicle for germplasm exchange and addressing issues important to the public cotton breeding community. A brief history of the importance and success of the RBTN as a public testing program will be presented.