Assessment of genetic diversity in sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum)

The cotton crop plays a vital role in foreign exchange earnings. The share of cotton to the value added in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is 1.5% and in agriculture it is 7.1%. Textile industry earned US$ 10.22 billion during July-March 2014-15 in terms of foreign exchange. The production area of cotton was 2961 thousand hectares during 2014-15 which is 5.5% greater over the last year¿s area of 2806 thousand hectares. During 2014-15 the harvest of the cotton was 13.983 million bales against 12.769 million bales in last year which is an increase of 9.5 % (Pakistan Economic Survey 2014-15). Cotton is an important fiber crop and also a major source of edible oil all over the world. It is cultivated in both subtropical and tropical regions of more than 80 countries all over the world including China, America, India and Pakistan (Singh 2004). The fiber of cotton is used in textile industry and seed of cotton is used in soap and lubricant manufacturing industry. Cotton provides food, feed and clothing (Poehlman 1995).