Genetic Improvement of Cotton

The white gold, cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) enjoys a predominant position among all cash crops in India. Cotton is an important raw material for the Indian textile industry, contributing about 65 per cent of its requirements. Germplasm is the genetic source material used by breeders to develop new cultivars, and one of the consequences of successful plant breeding is increased erosion or reduction in genetic variability for the crop undergoing selection. There is also a danger that valuable genetic resource may be lost to future breeding programs as the areas of genetic diversity are developed and as agriculture become more intensified. As a result breeders need to effectively manage their breeding populations to preserve adequate genetic variability so that, future improvement through selection can occur. Proper management of germplasm resources by the breeder includes introducing new germplasm resources on a regular basis to develop new recombinants and hence increase genetic variability.