LinexTester Analysis for Yield and Quality Traits under Salinity Stress in Cotton (Gossypium barbadense L.)

THE ISSUE OF salinity tolerance in crops has received a great amount of attention recently in Egypt, especially under the climate change phenomenon. The main objective of this experiment was to study the gene action that controls yield and quality traits of Egyptian cotton under normal and saline soil. Nine lines were crossed to three testers in a line x tester mating design. The 27 crosses and their parents were evaluated under normal and saline soil conditions in the seasons of 2018 and 2019 using a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Both additive (& sigma;2A) and dominance (& sigma;2D) variances were higher under normal soil than under salinity stress conditions for all the analyzed characteristics. Under normal soil, the ratio & sigma;2A/ & sigma;2D was less than unity for seed cotton yield/plant (SCY/p), number of bolls (NB/p), number of seeds (NS/b), boll weight (BW), lint yield (LY/p), and lint%. & sigma;2D was not significant for seed index (SI), lint index (LI), days to the first flower (DFF), plant height (PH), and upper half-mean length (UHML). Under normal soil and based on the mean performance the cross (Giza90 x AusxGiza85) x Giza95 was the best one for SCY/p, LY/p, NB/p, BW, SI and NS/b, and Ashmouni x Giza90 x AusxGiza83 for lint%, Dandarax Giza90 x AusxGiza83 for LI, Ashmouni x Giza90 x AusxGiza83 for DFF, Giza85xGiza95 for UHML. Giza95, Giza90 and Giza90 x AusxGiza83 were the best combiners in all the analyzed traits. These crosses can be used to develop new lines for the two environments.