Fibre- to- Seed Attachment Force in Upland Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). I. Variability

Pages: 3 (2), 1-11, 6 RefTen genotypes of upland cotton were evaluated over two seasons (1990/91 and 1991/92) in a randomized complete block design with two replications. Fibre-to-seed attachment force was determined at the micropylar end, the middle zone and the chalazal region of cotton seed as well as over the whole seed. The fibre attachment force varied with the region of the seed coat. It was higher at the micropylar end than at the middle and chalazal zones of the seed. Significant differences in fibre attachment force were found among the ten genotypes at the middle seed zone only. The cultivar Shambat B possessed a high fibre attachment force at the micropylar (9.0 CN. cm/mg), the middle seed zone (9.3CN. cm/mg) and the whole seed (8.0 CN. cm/mg). In contrast, a low fibre attachment force was expressed by the entries Shambat W (5.8 for the middle zone and 6.3 CN. cm/mg for the whole seed) and Shambat P (6.3 for the whole seed and 5.3 for the middle zone). Thus, the magnitude of the fibre attachment force at the middle seed zone could be used to differentiate between the different cotton genotypes.Khartoum University Pres