Studies on Heterosis in Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) for Seed Cotton Yield and its Components

Present study was undertaken to assess the extent of heterosis for seed cotton yield and its attributing traits in 54 inter plant type hybrids of cotton developed by crossing 9 lines with 6 testers in line tester mating design during Kharif 2009 at Main Agricultural Research Station, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad. The mean sum of squares of parent's vs hybrids was significant for all the characters except reproductive points and boll harvest index, indicating presence of heterosis for these traits. None of the crosses were superior for all the traits studied. However, the cross L₅ x T₅ was the best as it had highest mean performance for economically important characters. Majority of the crosses exhibited positive significant mid parent, better parent heterosis for all important yield contributing characters except for inter boll distance and inter branch distance where they showed significant negative heterosis, indicating predominance of non-additive gene action in the genetic control of these traits. Most of the hybrids expressed significant standard heterosis for all the characters over the checks.