[Cotton fiber quality traits were controlled mainly by maternal plant genotype]

Hai1, a Gossypium barbadense L. variety with super fiber quality, and CCRI36 and Zhong221, two upland cotton cultivars (Gossypium hirsutum L.), were used as recurrent parents to develop two backcross combinations of CCRI36xHai1 and Zhong221xHai1. Fiber quality of inter-crossing bolls and self-crossing bolls were analyzed from different generations of the two combinations. The results showed that there existed significant difference in the average value, pole difference and CV% of fiber quality traits, and no significant correlation in fiber quality traits between inter-crossing bolls (BC2F0) and self-crossing bolls (BC1F1) from male parent plants. There existed no significant difference in the average value, pole difference and CV% of fiber quality traits between inter-crossing bolls (BC2F0) and self-crossing bolls from the recurrent parents when BC1F1 plants were used as male parents and the recurrent parents (CCRI36, Zhong221) as female parents. The results also showed that average value, pole difference and CV% of fiber traits of inter-crossing bolls (BC3F0) were close to those of the female parents (BC2F1). When BC2F1 populations were used as female parents and the recurrent parents (CCRI36, Zhong221) were used as male parents, there were extremely significant positive correlation for fiber length, strength, micronaire value and elongation, except for fiber uniformity between inter-crossing bolls (BC3F0) and self-crossing bolls (BC2F1). So, fiber quality of inter-crossing bolls were close to those of self-crossing bolls of maternal plants and the male parent pollen genotype had no prominent effect to fiber quality traits of inter-crossing bolls. Fiber quality traits were controlled mainly by maternal plant genotype, while the contemporary seed embryonal genotype showed no significant effects for fiber quality.