ISSN 2375-1231
African Journal of Crop Science ISSN 2375-1231 Vol. 9 (8), pp. 001-007, August, 2021. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Comparative performance of Bt cotton with some elite conventional cotton cultivars under arid to semi-arid conditions
Ahsan Aziz1*, Naeem Akhtar1, Muhammad Afzal1, Muhammad Ashraf1, Asif Tanveer2, Rashid Ahmad3, Muhammad Ehsan Safdar1 and Salman Ahmad1
1University College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha- 40100, Pakistan.
2Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad-38040, Pakistan.
3Department of Crop Physiology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad-38040, Pakistan.
Accepted 26 May, 2021
Abstract
To identify the superior genotype, we studied the comparative growth and yield performance of four cotton cultivars namely, CIM-496, BH-162, VH-144 and Bt-121, grown on sandy clay loam soil, having pH 8.4, EC 1.0 dS m-1, SAR 7.8 (mmolL-1)1/2 and TSS, 10.0 meL-1. The site was located at latitude 31.65oN, longitude 72.36oE and altitude 157.65 m. The results revealed that plant growth parameters like plant height, number of bolls plant-1 and seed cotton weight boll- 1, were differed significantly (P < 0.05) among Bt and non-Bt cotton cultivars. Seed cotton yield and fiber quality parameters such as maturity percentage, micronaire value, staple length, fiber strength and virus infection percentage were also significantly (P < 0.05) different among different cultivars. Bt-121 had maximum value for seed cotton weight boll-1 and maturity percentage and produced 26% higher seed cotton yield than all other cultivars. Furthermore, it also showed 58% less cotton leaf curl virus infection compared to other cultivars. BH -162 produced fiber with maximum length and fineness but it appeared most vulnerable to virus attack. It was concluded that Bt-121 performed best in most of the studied traits than other cultivars and may be recommended for cultivation in areas having arid to semi-arid climatic conditions.
Key words: Genotypes, cotton, micronaire, ecological conditions, virus infection, yield performance.