Much work has been done over the years to establish testing methods for evaluating abiotic stress tolerance in crops, with no conclusive result. With new technologies being used to improve drought tolerance in crops, it is imperative that we develop methods for screening stress tolerance in crops. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate several cotton lines under differential watering regimes to establish a baseline for evaluating stress tolerance. There are several growth indices indicative of a cotton plant’s stress level, including number of days to bloom, number of squares initiated, boll retention, number of seed per boll and fibers per seed. There are also other various plant stress responses including leaf and canopy temperature which differ between varieties. However, from an economical and commercial standpoint, lint yields and fiber quality produced under stress are the best indices. Preliminary testing was initiated at the Texas Tech Crop Research Laboratory in Lubbock, Texas, in the 2004 season. Thirty-six cotton lines were evaluated in the test including several conventional commercial varieties, selected obsolete varieties, selected experimental lines from the Bayer CropScience Breeding Program, and other varieties previously identified as having evidence of drought tolerance. Data from these preliminary tests provided criteria for establishing methods for future testing, in order to achieve a potential stress tolerance screening procedure.
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