Line × tester analysis for yield and fiber quality in cotton

Cotton is a major fibre crop of global importance value. Cotton is known as the king of fibre and it is one of the momentous and an important cash crop exercising a profound influence on economics and social affairs of the world. Any other fibre crop cannot be compared with cotton for its fibre quality. So, for this reason cotton is also known as “White Gold”. The genus Gossypium, a member of the Malvaceae, consists of 50 species, in which 43 diploid (2n=26, AA) and 7 tetraploid (2n=52, AADD) species. There are four cultivated species of cotton G.arboreum, G.herbaceum, G.hirsutum and G.barbadense. Line × tester analysis is suitable for identification of good parents and cross combination to be used in crossing programme. An additional advantage of line × tester analysis is that it provides overall genetic picture of the experimental materials in single generation.