Specialty：Cotton Breeding

Research focus includes developing new and differentiated germplasm with enabling technology, and screening exotic germplasm collections for native traits to be used in breeding cotton.  Breeding targets include improved fiber quality, drought tolerance, nematode resistance, disease tolerance to Verticillium dahliae, Theilaviopsis basicola, and Xanthamonas (bacterial blight) and yield component stability in high fiber quality lines.  Fiber quality research includes not only improvement of heritable physical fiber properties, but also enhanced utilization facilitated by positive genetic/agronomic/processing interactions.  Incorporating native traits into cultivars through classical breeding for organic production and preserving genetic resources in a recombinant DNA environment is a primary goal of the breeding program.

Students and Support Staff

Catherine Danmaigona Clement | Will Dodge | Christian Hitzelberger