Determination of superior parents and hybrid combinations in respect to lint yield and yield components in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) [Pamukta (Gossypium hirsutum L.) lif verimi ve verim ögeleri bakimindan üstün anaç ve melez kombinasyonlarin belirlenmesi]

The purpose of this study was to determine estimates of the general combining ability of parents and the specific combining ability of hybrids needed to develop high yielding cotton cultivars. Five cotton lines (Sure Grow 125, Sure Grow 404, Sure Grow 501, Sure Grow 1001 and Çukurova 1518) and 7 testers (PAUM 400, PAUM 401, PAUM 402, PAUM 403, PAUM 404, PAUM 405 and PALM 406) were crossed in a line x tester mating system at Çukurova University. Cotton Research and Application Center, Adana, Turkey, in 2000. Twelve genotypes and 35 F1 hybrids were sown in a randomized complete block design with 3 replications at the same center in 2001. The general combining ability variance of parents and the specific combining ability variance of hybrids in respect to lint yield and yield components were estimated via line × tester analysis. Line × tester analysis revealed significant general and specific combining ability effects for lint yield, 100-seed weight, seed cotton weight per boll, lint percentage and boll number per plant. The following lines had higher general combining abilities than the others: PAUM 403 for boll number per plant: Çukurova 1518, PAUM 400, PAUM 403, PAUM 405 and PAUM 406 for lint yield: Sure Grow 501, Çukurova 1518, PAUM 401 and PAUM 405 for lint percentage; Sure Grow 125, PAUM 400, PAUM 403 for 100-seed weight; and Çukurova 1518. PAUM 400, PALM 405 and PAUM 406 for seed cotton weight per boll. Only Sure Grow 501 × PAUM 400 F1 showed significant specific combining ability effects for bolls/plant. It yielded more total lint than the others. This F1 achieved its high yield by producing many boll numbers per plant, while the others produced fewer