Tuesday, November 6, 2007
156-6
Cottonseed Oil Variability in 21 F2 Populations.
Lori L. Hinze and Russell J. Kohel. USDA-ARS, 2765 F&B Road, College Station, TX 77845
Cotton production is primarily based on the quantity and quality of fiber, but cottonseed products are an important secondary product. Cottonseed is a major oilseed in domestic and international markets. This study was conducted to determine whether valuable seed oil parameters exist in populations developed primarily for improved fiber quality properties. Twenty-one F2 populations were developed from seven parents selected for their fiber length and strength values. All F2 populations were grown at College Station, TX in 2004. Seeds from twenty plants were selected for analysis from an inner row of a block of 200 plants for each of the F2 populations. Seed oil percent was calculated by nondestructive nuclear magnetic resonance of a 10g sample of dried, delinted cottonseed. Oil index takes seed size into consideration and was calculated as seed oil percent divided by the weight (g) of 100 delinted seeds. Based on a total measure of oil percent, the FM832*DPL50 population had the greatest average oil percent (34.36%). After considering seed size, the FM832*DPL50 population also had one of the highest oil index values (3.54g). Three F2 populations sharing a common parent (TM1*FM832, TM1*7235, and TM1*MD51) had a higher oil index (3.66g, 3.67g, and 3.94g, respectively) than their common parent (3.59g). In contrast, the lowest oil index (2.65g) was observed in the CAMDE*MD51 population. There are significant differences among the 21 populations for oil index values. Useful variation and values of seed oil do exist in these populations selected primarily for improvement of fiber properties. Valuable seed oil characteristics appear to be present along with improved fiber properties and may allow for simultaneous improvement of these characters.