Genetic Dissection of Net Effects Between Yield and Its Components in Sea Island Cotton （Gossypium barbadense L.）

The number of bolls, individual boll weight, and lint percentage are three important yield components of lint yield of cotton. In the present study, nine parents, twenty F1, and twenty F2 crosses of intraspecific hybrids of sea island cotton （Gossypium barbadense L.） were grown at Tarim University, Alar, Xinjiang, China, in 2000 and 2001. Lint yield and its three component traits were measured and analyzed by an extended conditional mixed linear model approach. Lint percentage made the largest contribution to additive, additive x environment, and dominance x environment variations for lint yield. The contribution ratios of number of bolls, individual boll weight, and combined contribution of these two traits to additive x environment and dominance x environment variations for lint yield were not statistically significant. Lint yield of different parents could be affected differently by lint percentage. Lint yield of some parents was closely correlated with lint percentage, whereas for other parents, the behavior of individual boll weight and number of bolls played much more important roles on lint yield than that of lint percentage. It was shown by the conditional and conventional predicted additive x environment interaction effects of parents that the environment condition could influence different parents with varied effects.