Productivity and fiber quality of Bulgarian and foreign cotton varieties

Neli Valkova, Plamen Sabev and Minka Koleva

Abstract: The Bulgarian selection of cotton has created a great diversity of varieties, which is a good prerequisite for the development of cotton production in our country. The aim of this research was to study the productive potential and to evaluate the fiber quality of Bulgarian and foreign cotton varieties. 20 Bulgarian and 11 foreign cotton varieties were included in a trial, carried out during the period 2016 – 2019, in the experimental field of Field Crops Institute in town of Chirpan, by the block method in 4 repetitions and a plot of 20 m2. It was found that the seed cotton yield varied by varieties and by years. On average for four years, seed cotton yields from 1123 kg/ha to 1695 kg/ha was obtained from Bulgarian varieties and from 1290 to 1562 kg/ha of foreign varieties, which shows that some Bulgarian varieties had higher productivity. The varieties Helius, Trakia, Viki and Denitsa (Bulgarian selection) distinguished by high productivity of 1621 – 1695 kg/ha seed cotton yield exceeding the standard variety Chirpan-539 by 18.7 – 24.2%. They were also superior in fiber yield by 6.5 – 23.2%, had a high lint percentage and high setting of a 1st fruiting branch, which makes them suitable for machine harvesting, and they are very suitable for cotton production. Of the foreign varieties high productivity was found for the Greek Eva and the Spanish Tabladila-16 as in seed cotton yield they exceed the standard variety by 11.3 – 14.4%, in fiber yield – by 6.3 – 7.6%. The American Stoneville 112 and the Turkish Nazili-84 varieties had the largest bolls – 5.6 – 5.7 g and in this respect they were superior to the Bulgarian varieties. These varieties could be used as a valuable starting material in cotton breeding of productivity. The Bulgarian varieties Rumi, Natalia, Dorina, Vega, Perla and Colorit had longer fiber by 0.4-0.8 mm than the standard variety. Of the foreign varieties, Stoneville 112, Deltapine 30, Eva and C-9070 showed longer fiber by 0.5-0.7 mm than the standard. These varieties had lower productivity, with the exception of the Greek Eva and the Uzbek S-9070, and a lower fiber yield, but they are valuable for cotton breeding of fiber quality.

Keywords: cotton, G. hirsutum L., varieties, yield, length, lint percentage

Date published: 2022-12-09