Line X Tester Analysis of Heterosis for Seed Cotton Yield and Component Traits in Cotton (Gossypium Hirsutum L.)

Present study deals with heterosis for seed cotton yield (SCY) and its component traits in 45 F₁ hybrids derived from a line × tester mating design involving three elite female lines and fifteen testers. Trials were conducted under rain fed conditions at Phulambri and Pisadevi, Maharashtra, during kharif season of 2020. Mid-parent heterosis for seed cotton yield ranged from 42.28 % to 129.57 %. Better-parent heterosis peaked at 45.2 % and standard heterosis against the check ‘NHH-44’ reached 28.6%. Yield-component heterosis followed similar trend, with BN MPH up to 60.2 %, SP MPH up to 51.1 %, and BW MPH up to 32.1 %. Strong positive correlations between heterosis of SCY and of BN (r = 0.72**), SP (r = 0.68**), and BW (r = 0.55**) were observed. that Crosses AKH-8828 × MCU 7, AKH-081 × Abadhita, and AKH-8828 × Abadhita were found promising for the development of hybrid cotton.