Thrips Injury to Upland Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) Varieties1

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to obtain thrips injury data on Upland cotton varieties currently planted in the Southeast and to associate the effects of the injury with yield. Yield and thrips injury data were obtained on 16 varieties at Experiment, Georgia, in 1960, and thrips injury data on 12 varieties at Jackson, Georgia, in 1961. In 1960, a highly significant (P=.01) negative correlation (0.52) between yield and injury‐index was obtained. The linear regression showed a decrease of 392 pounds seed cotton per acre for each unit increase in thrips injury‐index. A highly significant correlation (0.73) between the 1960 and 1961 thrips injury‐index data was obtained.The order of rank of thrips resistance for varieties tested was ‘Empire,’ ‘DeKalb 108,’ ‘Dixie King,’ ‘Rex,’ ‘Auburn 56,’ ‘Plains,’ ‘Stoneville 7,’ ‘Coker 100A,’ and ‘Deltapine 15.’Empire and varieties having Empire in their genetic background exhibited more resistance to thrips injury than did other varieties.The value of Empire genes in a cotton breeding program for thrips resistance is pointed out.

This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit: