Abstract

The cotton flower being large and showy, attracts many insects and this results in a certain amount of cross-fertilization. Experi- mental evidence has been overwhelming to prove that vicinism ranging from nearly 2 to 100 per cent occurs in the various cottons investigated, the amounts being determined by the peculiar environmental conditions in each case (2). In breeding work with cotton, in order to avoid cross-pollination, pro- tection of flowers by artificial means becomes inevitable. Again, to evaluate the purity in the economic characters, the breeder is often forced to examine both the selfed and the naturally pollinated material. It is, therefore, in the fitness of things to know whether selfing affects the characters under study and if so in what direction. No apology is, therefore, needed to devote this paper to a study of the immediate effect of artificial self-fertilization as compared with the natural process.

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