Evaluation of heterosis and combining ability for yield and fibre quality traits in desi cotton (Gossypium arboreum l.) using half diallel.

Introduction

Desi cotton refers to the indigenous diploid cotton species native to the Indian subcontinent, primarily Gossypium arboreum L. and Gossypium herbaceum L., both possessing 2n = 26 chromosomes. These species represent some of the earliest cottons domesticated by humans and are recognized for their high adaptability and resilience. Desi cotton is particularly suited to drought-prone and heat-stressed environments due to its tolerance to various abiotic and biotic stresses, making it well adapted to rainfed and low-input production systems commonly followed by small and marginal farmers. Unlike high-yielding tetraploid cotton hybrids such as Gossypium hirsutum, Desi cotton typically produces fibres that are shorter and coarser, but comparatively stronger. The Indian cotton scenario remains highly dynamic and is shaped by both biotic and abiotic stresses as well as competition from other profitable crops. According to the Committee on Cotton Production and Consumption (COCPC), cotton production in India for 2025-26 is estimated at 292.15 lakh bales of 170 kg each from 110.86 lakh hectares, with average productivity of 448 kg lint/ha [Meeting dated 08.12.2025]. Compared to 2024-25, the area has declined by 3.47 percent and production by 1.72 percent.

Materials and Methods

The investigation was carried out at the experimental field of the Cotton Research Unit, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, and Akola. Eight parents were crossed using a half-diallel mating design during kharif 2024. The resulting 28 F₁ hybrids, together with their eight parents and two standard checks, were evaluated during kharif 2025 in a randomized block design with three replications. All recommended agronomic practices were followed throughout the experiment. Observations were recorded on five plants from each genotype in every replication for seed cotton yield per plant (g) and fibre quality attributes, namely upper half mean length (mm), fibre strength (g/tex), fibre fineness (µg/inch) and uniformity ratio. Analysis of variance was performed following the procedures described by Panse and Sukhatme (1967) [13] . Combining ability analysis was conducted according to Griffing's (1956b) Method 2, Model I.

Results and Discussion

The analysis of variance indicated significant differences among the genotypes for all the characters under investigation, confirming the existence of considerable genetic variability and demonstrating that the genotypes differed substantially in their performance for the traits studied. For seed cotton yield per plant, standard heterosis over PKV Suvarna ranged from -42.72 to 103.71 per cent. The hybrid JLA-1807 × JLA-1913 exhibited the maximum positive heterosis (103.71%), followed by JLA-1807 × PA-740 (70.79%) and JLA-1807 × PA-810 (47.19%). With PDKV Dhawal as the standard check, the magnitude of standard heterosis ranged from -37.94 to 120.72 per cent. The cross JLA-1807 × JLA-1913 again recorded the highest positive heterosis (120.72%), followed by JLA-1807 × PA-740 (85.05%) and JLA-1807 × PA-810 (59.48%). For upper half mean length, the standard heterosis relative to PKV Suvarna ranged from -2.02 to 16.13 per cent. Among the hybrids, PA-810 × PA-740 showed the highest positive heterosis (16.13%), followed by JLA-1807 × PA-740 (11.29%) and AKA-8 × PA-812 (9.68%). Using PDKV Dhawal as the standard check, the heterosis estimates ranged from -3.20 to 15.20 per cent. The hybrid PA-810 × PA-740 recorded the maximum positive heterosis (15.20%), followed by JLA-1807 × PA-740 (10.40%) and AKA-8 × PA-812 (8.80%). For fibre strength, standard heterosis over PKV Suvarna varied from -4.90 to 24.08 per cent. The highest positive heterotic effect was expressed by JLA-1807 × PA-810 (24.08%), followed by PA-810 × PA-812 (19.18%) and AKA-7 × JLA-1807 (14.29%). With PDKV Dhawal as the reference check, heterosis estimates ranged from -13.06 to 13.43 per cent. JLA-1807 × PA-810 exhibited the highest positive standard heterosis (13.43%), followed by PA-810 × PA-812 (8.96%), AKA-7 × JLA-1807(4.48%) and JLA-1807×PA-740 (4.48%). For fibre fineness, standard heterosis with PKV Suvarna as the reference check ranged from -22.41 to 5.17 per cent. Since lower fibre fineness is desirable, JLA-1807 × PA-810 exhibited the most favourable negative heterosis (-22.41%), followed by PA-810 × PA-740 (-12.07%) and JLA-1807 × PA-812 (-10.34%). When PDKV Dhawal was used as the standard check, the heterosis estimates ranged from -26.23 to 0.00 per cent. The cross JLA-1807 × PA-810 recorded the highest desirable negative heterosis (-26.23%), followed by PA-810 × PA-740 (-16.39%) and JLA-1807 × PA-812 (-14.75%). For uniformity ratio, standard heterosis over PKV Suvarna ranged from 0.00 to 5.00 per cent. [1,3,4,7,8,11,17,19,20,23] .

General Combining Ability Effect

For seed cotton yield per plant, JLA-1807 exhibited the highest positive and significant GCA effect (10.463), establishing it as the most promising general combiner for yield improvement. In contrast, AKA-8 recorded the highest significant negative GCA effect (-6.721). Regarding upper half mean length, PA-740 showed the maximum positive and significant GCA effect (0.856), thereby emerging as the best general combiner for this trait. For fibre strength, the highest positive and significant GCA effect was observed in JLA-1807 (1.254), followed by PA-810 (1.042). In the case of fibre fineness, negative GCA effects were considered favourable, and significant desirable effects were recorded for PA-810 (-0.184) and PA-812 (-0.122). For uniformity ratio, JLA-1807 registered the highest positive GCA effect (0.531), followed by PA-740 (0.406), indicating their potential for improving fibre uniformity.

Specific Combining Ability Effect

Among the crosses, JLA-1807 × JLA-1913 (20.658) showed the highest significant positive SCA effect for seed cotton yield per plant. For upper half mean length, PA-810 × PA-740 (1.448) exhibited the highest significant positive SCA effect. The cross PA-810 × PA-812 (1.875) showed the highest significant positive SCA effect for fibre strength. None of the crosses exhibited a significant positive SCA effect for uniformity ratio. [6,9,10,12,13,15,18,21,22] .

Conclusion

The findings demonstrated the presence of considerable genetic diversity among the genotypes for all the characters evaluated. Among the hybrids, JLA-1807 × JLA-1913 emerged as the most promising combination for seed cotton yield, whereas PA-810 × PA-740 showed superior performance for upper half mean length. The hybrid JLA-1807 × PA-810 exhibited desirable potential for improving fibre strength and fibre fineness, while JLA-1807 × PA-740 performed best for uniformity ratio. JLA-1807 and PA-740 were identified as valuable general combiners for important yield and fibre quality attributes. Furthermore, JLA-1807 × JLA-1913, PA-810 × PA-740, PA-810 × PA-812 and JLA-1807 × PA-810 emerged as promising specific cross combinations with potential for simultaneous improvement of seed cotton yield and fibre quality. The superior parental lines and identified cross combinations may therefore be effectively exploited in future breeding programmes aimed at developing high-yielding Desi cotton genotypes with improved fibre characteristics.

Aknowledgement

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