Advances in Cotton Breeding and Production for Stress Resilience and Fitness

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Breeding and Genetics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 October 2022) | Viewed by 9020

Special Issue Editors

Key Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Genetic, College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, Nanning 530005, Guangxi, China
Interests: cotton physiology; cotton biotic and abiotic stresses; cotton breeding; cotton production

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

World economic development and population growth urgently need more cotton supply in the textile industry. Cotton production is increasingly affected by extreme weather changes, soil salinization pollution, and labor shortages. This calls for new germplasm resources, stronger breeding methods for yield, high-quality fiber, disease, insect, salinization, heavy metal, temperature resistance, as well as smarter cultivar systems (light and simplified intelligent cotton cultivation). To enhance the adaptability of cotton to harsh environments, molecular, physiological, and Internet of Things (IOT) methods must be comprehensively utilized in cotton breeding and production.

This Special Issue covers original research and review articles on germplasm, heterosis utilization, yield stability of cotton under abiotic or biotic stresses, i.e., cold, high temperature, drought, salinity, and heavy metal or insect incidence. Major aspects may include but are not limited to understanding the relationships between molecule and phenotype, crop and environment, and adaptation mechanisms to harsh environmental conditions.

Submissions on (but not limited to) the following topics are invited: (1) cotton germplasm resources innovation under traditional and modern methods, (2) cotton breeding for abiotic/biotic stress tolerance, (3) molecular and physiological mechanisms and regulation networks of cotton in response to abiotic or biotic stresses, and (4) efficient management options for cotton production.

Dr. Najeeb Ullah
Dr. Aziz Khan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • cotton breeding
  • biotic stress
  • abiotic stress
  • light and simplified cotton cultivation
  • smart agriculture

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 354 KiB  
Article
Biochemical and Associated Agronomic Traits in Gossypium hirsutum L. under High Temperature Stress
by Muhammad Mubashar Zafar, Yufang Zhang, Muhammad Awais Farooq, Arfan Ali, Hina Firdous, Muhammad Haseeb, Sajid Fiaz, Amir Shakeel, Abdul Razzaq and Maozhi Ren
Agronomy 2022, 12(6), 1310; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agronomy12061310 - 29 May 2022
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 2107
Abstract
Heat tolerance is a physiologically and genetically complex trait regulated by multiple genes. To investigate the genetic basis of heat tolerance, eight parents (five lines and three testers) and their fifteen F1 hybrids were evaluated under normal and high-temperature stress conditions for two [...] Read more.
Heat tolerance is a physiologically and genetically complex trait regulated by multiple genes. To investigate the genetic basis of heat tolerance, eight parents (five lines and three testers) and their fifteen F1 hybrids were evaluated under normal and high-temperature stress conditions for two consecutive years. Data were recorded for plant height, number of bolls, boll weight, seed cotton yield, ginning out turn (GOT%), H2O2, catalase, peroxidase, super-oxidase dismutase, total soluble proteins, carotenoids, chlorophyll a & b contents, short fiber index, fiber strength, UHML, micronaire value, reflectance, and uniformity index. Line × tester analysis suggested that the contribution of lines was higher than testers. Non-additive gene action was observed for all studied traits. The variances of SCA were greater than GCA variances for all studied traits revealed that these traits were governed by a few largely dominant genes. Fb-Shaheen, Eagle-2 and JSQ White Gold were found good general combiner whereas the cross Fb-Shaheen × JSQ White Gold was a good specific combiner and revealed significant better parent heterosis for most of the traits during two years under normal and high temperature stress conditions. The information obtained could be utilized in a breeding program for the development of new synthetic varieties of heat tolerance. Full article
20 pages, 1565 KiB  
Article
Quantitative Proteomics-Based Analysis Reveals Molecular Mechanisms of Chilling Tolerance in Grafted Cotton Seedlings
by Xin Zhang, Yan Feng, Aziz Khan, Najeeb Ullah, Zengqiang Li, Saira Zaheer, Ruiyang Zhou and Zhiyong Zhang
Agronomy 2022, 12(5), 1152; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agronomy12051152 - 10 May 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1606
Abstract
Proteome analysis of grafted cotton exposed to low-temperature stress can provide insights into the molecular mechanistic of chilling tolerance in plants. In this study, grafted and non-grafted cotton plants were exposed to chilling stress (10 °C/5 °C) for 7 d. After the stress, [...] Read more.
Proteome analysis of grafted cotton exposed to low-temperature stress can provide insights into the molecular mechanistic of chilling tolerance in plants. In this study, grafted and non-grafted cotton plants were exposed to chilling stress (10 °C/5 °C) for 7 d. After the stress, rootstock and scion samples were labeled by 8-plex iTRAQ (isobaric Tags for Relative and Absolute Quantification), followed by two-dimensional liquid chromatography separation and tandem mass spectrometry identification. In total, 68 differential proteins were identified that were induced by low-temperature stress and grafting, and these proteins regulate physiological functioning. Under low-temperature stress, in the cotton seedlings, the proteins responded to the MAPK signaling pathway and calcium signaling pathway enhanced, the metabolisms of carbohydrate, lipid, nucleotide, and amino acid had a tendency to intensify, the proteins related to protein folding and degradation were activated, along with the system of antioxidant enzymes to offset cellular oxidative damage. In contrast, chilling stress reduced oxidative phosphorylation, photosynthesis, and carbon fixation. These data indicated that the physiological changes in cotton seedlings comprise a complex biological process, and the ability of plants to resist this stress can be improved after grafting onto a vigorous rootstock, although this was not obvious in the young plants. Further studies of low-temperature stress and/or graft-related differences in proteins could lead to the identification of new genes associated with chilling tolerance in plants. These data provide the basis for further studies on the molecular mechanism of chilling tolerance and the relationship of grafting and chilling tolerance in cotton. Full article
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17 pages, 332 KiB  
Article
Diallel Crosses of Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) from Burkina Faso and Texas A&M AgriLife Research—1-Analysis of Agronomic Traits to Improve Elite Varieties from Burkina Faso
by Larbouga Bourgou, Jane K. Dever, Monica Sheehan, Carol M. Kelly, Sidiki K. Diané and Mahamadou Sawadogo
Agronomy 2022, 12(4), 939; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agronomy12040939 - 14 Apr 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1492
Abstract
Cotton breeding progress stagnation, changing production conditions, and continued high fiber quality demands are challenging the cotton industry in Burkina Faso. The F1 populations developed by half diallel crosses between germplasm from Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Burkina Faso were evaluated for [...] Read more.
Cotton breeding progress stagnation, changing production conditions, and continued high fiber quality demands are challenging the cotton industry in Burkina Faso. The F1 populations developed by half diallel crosses between germplasm from Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Burkina Faso were evaluated for several agronomic traits. The aim was to identify the most promising parents and hybrids for further varietal improvement. Three AgriLife parents helped improve the most important targeted traits. Parent 15-3-416 reduced days to 50% flowering (−3.14 days) and shortened plant height (−22.25 cm) in hybrids while 16-2-216FQ improved their fiber percentage (+2.68%). Hybrids with Burkina Faso elite cultivar E32 as male parent and the three best AgriLife parents as the females showed good specific combining ability (SCA). FK37 × 15-10-610-7 and FK64 × 15-10-610-7 showed heterosis for earliness by reducing, respectively, days to 50% flowering (−4.27 days) or days to 50% boll opening (−3.95 days) below parent means. E32 × 16-2-216FQ and FK64 × 16-2-216FQ increased fiber percentage by +1.75% and +2.06%, respectively. FK64 × 15-3-416 increased seed index (SI) (+0.62 g) and fiber percentage (+1.19%), while maintaining other traits at the parents’ average levels. E32 × 15-3-416 showed the most heterosis for desired improvements, reducing days to 50% flowering (−4) and increasing the number of bolls/vegetative branch (+3.05), number of bolls/fruiting branch (+6.38), number of bolls/plant (+13.49), boll weight (+1.53 g), SI (+0.40 g), and fiber percentage (+1.18%). Inter-program crosses show the potential to enhance genetic diversity in Burkina Faso’s breeding program. Subsequent selection methods must be carefully applied considering the Burkina Faso breeding objectives for future cultivars. Full article
13 pages, 2311 KiB  
Article
Phenotypic Correlation Analysis in F2 Segregating Populations of Gossypiumhirsutum and Gossypiumarboreum for Boll-Related Traits
by Zubair Iqbal, Daowu Hu, Wajad Nazeer, Hao Ge, Talha Nazir, Sajid Fiaz, Alia Gul, Muhammad Shahid Iqbal, Ahmed M. El-Sabrout, Zahra Maryum, Zhaoe Pan and Xiongming Du
Agronomy 2022, 12(2), 330; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agronomy12020330 - 27 Jan 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2564
Abstract
Cotton is an important agro-industrial crop across the globe. Improving the fiber quality and yield potential of cotton are major commercial targets for cotton breeders. The cotton lint yield is computed by multiplying three fundamental yield constituents: average boll weight, boll number per [...] Read more.
Cotton is an important agro-industrial crop across the globe. Improving the fiber quality and yield potential of cotton are major commercial targets for cotton breeders. The cotton lint yield is computed by multiplying three fundamental yield constituents: average boll weight, boll number per unit ground area, and lint percentage. The cotton species Gossypium arboreum exhibits a wide range of desirable traits, which are absent in the congener Gossypium hirsutum. Four parental lines of G. hirsutum and G. arboreum, with significant differences in boll-related traits, were used to develop the following four F2 populations: Mei Zhongmian × Chimu Heizi (MC), Mei Zhongmian × L-02292-3 (ML), Dixie king × Suyuan 04-44 (DS), and Dixie king × Pamuk (DP), in order to study complex traits, such as boll weight (BW) (g), lint percentage (LP) (%), boll upper width (BUW), boll medium width (BMW), boll lower width (BLU), and boll length (BL) (mm). In segregation populations, extensive phenotypic differences and transgressive segregation were observed. The results show that most of the correlation clusters were negatively associated with boll weight and lint percentage. The positive correlation clusters were observed among boll upper width (BUW), boll medium width (BMW), boll lower width (BLW), and boll length (BL). Seven of the twenty-four extracted principal components had eigenvalues > 1. This accounted for 62.2% of the difference between the four F2 populations. Principal component 1 accounted for 15.1% of the overall variability. The variation in principal component 1 was mainly attributed to boll lower width (BLW), boll medium width (BMW), boll upper width (BUW), boll length (BL), and boll weight (BW) of the ML population. The heritability estimates varied between high, medium, and low for various traits among the studied F2 populations. Interestingly, all traits demonstrated low genetic advance, which indicates that non-additive genes controlled these characters and that direct selection for these traits is not beneficial. The outcome of the present investigation will help to develop cotton cultivars with improved boll weight and lint percentage. Full article
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