Genetic analysis of earliness in upland cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L.). II. Yield and lint percentage

Inheritance and interrelationships of seed cotton and lint yields were evaluated in a diallel analysis involving seven early maturing parents of different origin and a commercial variety. Lint yield showed relatively little additive variance and low heritability, whereas lint percentage showed the opposite. Highest yields were shown by the least determinate and slowest-maturing genotypes; yields generally decreased as determinacy increased and rate of maturity accelerated. Except for date for first open boll, components of earliness showed no associated with yield.