Breeding assessment of new promising cotton lines

Abstract

Abstract. Cotton breeding in Bulgaria is mainly aimed at improving the earliness, productivity and fiber quality of modern varieties. The creation of new genetic diversity is one of the basic prerequisites for the success of breeding programs. The aim of the study was to evaluate cotton lines obtained by intraspecific and remote hybridization combined with backcross technology, with a view to their most effective usage in selection. Twenty-three lines were included in competitive variety trials conducted during the 2014-2017 period. The averaged results showed that lines 550, 639, 641, obtained by remote hybridization, appeared to be very promising. These three lines were distinguished by the best combination of productivity, fiber length and fiber lint percentage, and by these three indicators they exceeded the standard variety Chirpan-539. A new cotton variety Aida (No. 457) was approved, which in seed cotton yield and fiber yield, and technological fiber properties surpassed the standard varieties Chirpan-539 for earliness and productivity and Avangard-264 for fiber quality. The candidate variety 535 continued the state variety testing. Two new candidate cotton varieties No. 550 and No. 553 were released. In the state variety testing the three candidate varieties confirmed their qualities. The obtained lines, distinguished by one trait or by a complex of qualities, enriched the gene pool of Bulgarian cotton.