Combining Ability of Extra-Long Staple Cotton Germplasm Lines.

Eight cotton germplasm lines with extra-long staple developed by the Cotton Improvement Laboratory at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX, were evaluated in 2007 and 2008 for combining ability. The experimental lines were hybridized with two cultivars. F1 progeny were tested for fiber qualities and yield components. Results suggest that lines with the best combining, specific and general, did not always have the best fiber qualities in the parental state. Such information is valuable to other breeders who wish to incorporate this set of unique germplasm into their breeding programs.