Studies on salt tolerance in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

The present investigation was carried out with 32 upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) genotypes under both normal and saline alkaline conditions, to identify the salt tolerant genotypes, to study the extent of variability, association among different traits, direct and indirect effects of yield components and genetic divergence among the genotypes. Based on the combined ranking of salt tolerance indices and saline per se performance, the five genotypes viz., RST 9, Anjali, MCU 5VT, Narashimha and G. Cot 10 were found to be promising under saline alkaline condition. The characters viz., number of bolls per plant, boll weight, lint yield per plant, ginning out turn, specific leaf area, leaf area index, Na-K ratio and seed cotton yield registered high heritability and genetic advance under both the conditions, indicating the possibility of improvement of these traits through a simple phenotypic selection.