Correlation analysis of several economic traits of upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

Abstract

Cotton is a leading natural source of textile fiber. It is highly susceptible to biotic & abiotic stresses, which decreases cotton production every year. The purpose of this research is to assess the correlation among yield related characters and fibre traits, that help in preliminary selection of desirable characters and genetically diverse parental line for future breeding of cotton. Eighteen varieties of upland cotton were cultivated in RCBD in three repetitions in fields of Plant Breeding and Genetics, University of Agriculture Faisalabad. Data was recorded for several agronomic traits of upland cotton. i.e. Bolls per plant, height of the plant, sympodial branches, seeds per boll, monopodial branches, 100 seed weight, boll weight, strength of fiber (g/tex), lint index, GOT (%), Seed cotton yield (g) and fiber fineness (µg /inch), fiber length (mm) Agglomerative hierarchical clustering was performed to group diverse genotypes into distinct clusters by using ward’s minimum variance method. Significant variation was observed among all genotypes through analysis of variance. Bolls/plant, weight of boll, sympodial branches and 100 seed weight revealed significantly positive relationship with seed cotton yield. It also revealed positive relationship with fibre fineness, However bolls per plant displayed strong negative correlation with fiber length. Traits exhibiting positive association to yield of seed cotton can be selected to be utilized in breeding programs for producing high yield cultivars. Eighteen varieties were classified into four groups. Cluster IIⅠ is the biggest cluster, which is sub divided into two sub-clusters i.e. Cluster IIⅠa & Cluster IIⅠb, which comprises of eight and two genotypes respectively followed by Cluster Ⅰ and Cluster IV comprised of 3 genotypes in each. However, Cluster II is the smallest cluster consisted of only two genotypes.