Journal of
Plant Breeding and Crop Science

  • Abbreviation: J. Plant Breed. Crop Sci.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2006-9758
  • DOI: 10.5897/JPBCS
  • Start Year: 2009
  • Published Articles: 447

Full Length Research Paper

Screening cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) genotypes for drought tolerance under screen house conditions in Malawi

Jessie Mvula
  • Jessie Mvula
  • Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Bunda College of Agriculture, P. O. Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi.
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James M. Bokosi
  • James M. Bokosi
  • Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Bunda College of Agriculture, P. O. Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi.
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Venon Kabambe
  • Venon Kabambe
  • Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Bunda College of Agriculture, P. O. Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi.
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Mackson H. P. Banda
  • Mackson H. P. Banda
  • Department of Agricultural Research Services, P. O. Box 30779, Lilongwe, Malawi.
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  •  Received: 01 June 2016
  •  Accepted: 25 July 2017
  •  Published: 28 February 2018

Abstract

Drought stress is a major factor decreasing cotton productivity in Malawi. To identify drought tolerant cultivars, a study was conducted in 2012 at Bunda College to evaluate the performance of 20 cotton genotypes under water stress conditions. A screen house pot experiment was carried out using a randomized complete block design and data were recorded on tap root length, lateral root number, fresh root weight, dry root weight, fresh shoot weight, dry shoot weight, shoot length, root volume, number of leaves per plant, and stem diameter. Results revealed significant differences among genotypes for response to drought stress. Six genotypes (06K485, 06K486, SPAN 837, FQMA (05) 5 bcp, Chureza, and RASAM 17) showed drought tolerance. The inclusion of these genotypes as parents in the drought tolerance breeding programme can have a significant impact to minimize the adverse effects of drought on cotton in Malawi.

Key words: Cotton, genotypes, water stress, growth, productivity traits.

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This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

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