1Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Regional Station, Sirsa-125 055
2Project Coordinator (Cotton) and Head, Central Institute for Cotton Research, Regional Station, Coimbatore-641 003.
Inheritance of seven qualitative characters in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), namely, stem colour, corolla colour, bract colour, boll colour, bract type, leaf shape and foliar nectary were studied in a cross between two cotton genotypes-SH 131 and Red Stem. Colour of the stem and corolla were controlled by two and one pair of genes respectively and colour of bract and boll was conditioned by three pairs of genes. Colour of stem, boll and bract of F1 was red while that of corolla was light red indicating the dominance of red pigmentation in case of stem, boll and bract and incomplete dominance in case of corolla colour.
Frego bract was found to be monogenic recessive. Leaf shape showed incomplete dominance. Nectariless character was governed by duplicate recessive genes. Joint segregation between the character pairs: stem colour and bract type; stem colour and leaf shape: stem colour and nectariedness; bract type and leaf shape; bract type and nectariendness and also leaf shape and nectariendness revealed independent assortment of the characters under consideration.
