Collecting cotton germplasm from Tripura and Meghalaya

Seventy six germplasm samples of cotton were collected from tribal areas of Tripura state and west Garo hills in Meghalaya during December, 1993. Sixty one samples (55 white linted and 6 brown linted types) with long, medium and small bolls represented diversity in annual diploid cotton (Gossypium arboreum L.) from Jhums and exhibited great variability in boll weight, boll length, seed number/loculus/boll, ginning out-turn, seed index and lint index and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Fifteen samples, 8 in kidney cottons (G. barbadense var. brasiliense) with fused naked seeds and 7 in other type with separate seeds, represented diversity in perennial allotetraploid cotton (Gossypium barbedense L.) from valiey and plain areas. Some of the accessions having extra long boll (15 cm) with high retentivity, high boll weight (6.0 g), high seed numbers/loculus (20) seeds per boll (59), high ginning out-turn (55%), high lint index and field resistance to jassids and bollworms were found to be most useful genetic resources to be exploited directly and indirectly in cotton improvement programme. The brown Iinted types are rarely seen.