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DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGH YIELDING COTTON MUTANT, NIAB-92 THROUGH THE USE OF INDUCED MUTATIONS

R.M. SAEED IQBAL, M.B. CHAUDHRY, M.ASLAM AND A.A. BANDESHA

Abstract: Soaked seeds of an exotic variety 5toneville-231 (Gossypium hirsutum L) were treated with gamma rays at 30 kR from ⁶⁰CO source having dose rate of 40 kR per hour and planted in the field as M₁ genera fion during 1984. From the segregating generations, a high yielding mutant was selected and named as NIAB-92. The plant of NIAB-92 is a semi-haily, compact sympodial type of medium stature. It has 0-2 fruit bearing monopodial branches and more number of shorter sympodial branches as compared to the parent, Stoneville-231 and commercial cotton variety NIAB-78. The mutant is early maturing and matures twenty days earlier than the parent 5toneville-231. It has higher yield potential alongwith desirable fibre properties such as G.O.T.(%), fibre length, fibre fineness and fibre strength. In the comparative yield trials the mutant NIAB-92 significantly outyielded both the prevalent commercial cotton varieties i.e., NIAB- 78 and S-12. At NIAB it gave 15.3 % and 19.1 % higher yield than NIAB-78 and 5-12, respectively, while at farmers fields the increase in yield was 8.8 % and 14.1 % as compared with NIAB-78 and 5-12. The mutant has also shown resistance against leaf curl virus disease.

Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology, Faisalabad, Pakistan.