Initial Experiences Utilizing Exotic Landrace Germplasm in an Upland Cotton Breeding Program.

A critical objective of plant breeding programs is accessing new sources of genetic variation. In upland cotton, one of the relatively untapped sources of genetic variation is maintained in the USDA-ARS cotton germplasm collection and is the exotic landrace collection. Photoperiod sensitivity is a major reason the exotic landrace collection has been underutilized. In an effort to access genetic variation present in the exotic landrace collection, the Pee Dee cotton germplasm enhancement program is employing two primary breeding strategies. The first strategy focuses on using day-neutral converted exotic landrace germplasm. The second strategy focuses on identifying and directly using day-neutral exotic landrace germplasm. Several different topcross breeding populations are in development to determine the breeding potential of these exotic germplasm.