Genetic variation among cotton (G. hirsutum L.) cultivars for motes, seed-coat fragments and loading force

Seed quality is one of the important objectives in cotton production and breeding. Seed-coat fragments (SCFs) and motes are the main impurities in lint cotton and are major concerns in the textile industry. A 2-year study was conducted to compare 10 cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) cultivars for the number of SCFs, motes, and resistance to loading force (RL).Although cultivars were not significantly different for the number of SCFs in both years, mean values changed among cultivars and between years. Heritability for the number of SCFs was 0.52 indicating almost equal genotypic and environmental effects on phenotype. There was no correlation between the number of SCFs and RL. Cultivars were different for number of motes. Genotypic and environmental effects on the number of motes were 0.71 and 0.29, respectively. No significant correlation was detected between number of SCFs and RL.