Dick Auld1, Efrem Bechere2, Jim Davis3, Lindy Seip3, and Jack Brown3. (1) Texas Tech Univ. Plant and Soil Science Dept, Box 42122, Lubbock, TX 79409-2122, (2) Texas Tech Univ, Plant and Soil Science Dept.,, Box 42122, Lubbock, TX 79409-2122, (3) Univ of Idaho, PSES Dept, AG SCI 328, Moscow, ID 83844-2339
The
1.3 billion pounds of cottonseed (Gossypium
hirsutum L.) oil produced each year makes it the third leading vegetable
oil in the U.S. The cottonseed processing industry is a $1.2
billion industry and provides up to 15% of the gross return on cotton
production. However, it takes twice as
much photosynthetic energy to make one unit of cottonseed oil as it does to
make one unit of lint. Because the oil
is produced during seed maturation when cotton fiber is being formed, reducing
the oil content of cottonseed has increased fiber production. Recently, the rapidly increasing price of
fossil fuels has created an opportunity to produce "Biodiesel" from
cottonseed oil. Research at Texas Tech University over the past
decade has identified two separate genetic mechanisms which could significantly
increase the yield of cottonseed oil and potential biodiesel production. Direct selection in chemically mutated
populations of upland cotton has identified six M8 lines which increase seed
oil content. A second mutation
essentially eliminates residual lint on the surface of the cottonseed which
could enhance extracted oil yield from cottonseed by 10% while significantly
reducing the cost of oil extraction.
Incorporation of these two relatively simple genetic modifications into
cotton varieties could increase the
yield potential biodiesel by over 20% while maintaining current lint
yields and fiber quality. These simple
inherited traits which increase biodiesel production can be quickly
incorporated into both stripper and picker varieties to help ensure the
continued production and economic viability of cotton.