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Hybrid Cotton Adaption Performance under Irrigation Conditions of Ethiopia

Abstract

Alehegn Workie Amanu

Cotton is the leading natural fiber crop in the world. Improvements in textile processing, particularly advances in spinning technology, have led to
increased emphasis on breeding cotton for both improved yield and improved fiber properties in the world. Cotton production and weaving has
a very long history in Ethiopia. It has also been contributing a lot for the development of textile industries and offering considerable employment
opportunities in the textile mills and in the farms. The production and productivity of cotton has been constrained by lack of high yielding and widely
adaptable varieties with higher fiber quality traits. The cotton varieties widely grown in Ethiopia are primarily Deltapine-90 and Acala-SJ2 (American
varieties). However, these varieties have been used for more than 20 years, thus giving rise to the serious problem of variety ageing and
degeneration. In order to meet the evolving demands of the producers and domestic textile mills and foreign market, high yielding and better
fiber quality varieties must be introduced and adapted in a continuous basis. This experiment was conducted with the objective of evaluating the
performance of introduced hybrid cotton under irrigated condition in Ethiopia. Six medium staple length hybrid cottons namely, VBCH 1533, VBCH
1537, Rambo VBCH 1521, VBCH 1517 and Hero VBCH 1511 were introduced from India by Vibha seed trading PLC, and compared with two
commercialized checks Deltapine-90 and stam-59A at Werer Agricultural Reseach Center (WARC), Amibara (sheleko), Melkasedi, Gawane, Sille,
and Woyto. The Experiment was laid out on a non-replicated plot area of 10 m × 10 m (100 m²). Seed cotton yield result revealed that each of the
candidate genotype had the best performed at Gewane as compared to other locations. At Gewane Hero VBCH 1511, VBCH 1537, VBCH 1533
surpassed for seed cotton yield of yielding 51.22, 50.05 and 49.97 q/ha, respectively. The lowest seed cotton yield was scored at Amibara for the
check variety DP-90 (7.55 q/ha). Almost all test candidate genotypes surpassed over the check varieties for seed cotton yield at each location. The
overall combined mean showed VBCH 1533 (32.31 q/ha) surpassed all the genotypes followed by VBCH 1537 (30.45 q/ha) and Hero VBCH 1511
(29.49 q/ha) for seed cotton yield. The yield advantage of the three highest candidate genotypes over the better check was 31.82%, 24.24% and
20.32%. Most of the genotypes best performed for upper half mean length at locations WARC and Woyto. Concerning to the fiber quality properties
of the candidate genotypes viz. VBCH 1537, Rambo VBCH 1521, Hero VBCH 1511 and VBCH 1533 had best performed respectively as compared
to other genotypes considered in this study. In general, VBCH 1533, VBCH 1537 and Hero VBCH 1511 were the best genotypes revealed superior
performance in both seed cotton yield and related traits and fiber quality properties. Thus, these genotypes can be used in the breeding program
for crossing and should be commercialized if these genotypes had surpassed the commercialized checks