Pima Cotton Improvement

Abstract

Pima experimental strains P73, P75, P76, P77, and the cultivars Pima S-6 (PS-6) and Pima S-7 (PS-7) were grown in replicated regional tests at twelve locations across the Pima belt in 1993. Tests were machine harvested for yield determination, plant heights were measured, and lint samples were collected for fiber analysis. Considerable genotype by environment interaction for yield potential occurred across tests in 1993. Across all locations, the strain P76 ranked first in yield followed by the cultivar PS-7 and strain P75. Strains P73 and P76 produced fiber of equal or greater length, strength, and elongation than PS-7. Plant heights were greatest for the entries PS-6 and P75. Entries PS-7 and P73 were intermediate in height, while P76 and P77 were the shortest of the entries tested. Considering yield and fiber properties concurrently, P76 was the superior entry of the 1993 tests.