Abstract

The genus Gossypium L. comprises of twenty different species falling under two distinct cytological groups viz., those with 2n=26 chromosomes and others with 2n=52. The cultivated cottons of the world belong to only one or other of four species of Gossypium viz., hirsutum and barbadense in the American group (2n=52) and arboreum and herbaceum in the Asiatic group (2n=26). There are nearly sixteen other related wild species in existence and some of these are known to possess very useful characters like lint fineness, fibre strength, resistance to drought, pests and diseases etc. The role of these wild species as sources of new genes for desirable characters that can be transferred to cultivated cottons has been increasingly recognised in recent times.

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