SEMESTER-VI PBG-302 Breeding Fibre Crops 3(2-1) Objectives To enable students to understand: • Developmental history of various fibre crops • Breeding fibre crops for yield and quality characteristics • Breeding methods for incorporating resistance against biotic and abiotic stresses Theory Introduction to fibre crops. Role of fibre crops in national and international economy. Current breeding work on cotton and other fibre crops. Cotton genetic resources: species grown in Pakistan. Objectives of breeding fibre crops. Breeding methods. Concepts of ideotype breeding in cotton. Coloured and organic cotton. Genetics of host-plant resistance. Fibre quality attributes and their relationship with morphological traits. Development of hybrid and transgenic cotton. Scope and perspective of Bt cotton in Pakistan. Practical Selfing and crossing techniques in fiber crops. Identification of different species of cotton. Collection of data on different quantitative traits of cotton, data analysis and its interpretation. Testing of fibre traits in cotton. Visit to research stations and fiber testing laboratories. Recommended Books 1. Sleper, D.A. and J.M. Poehlman. 2006. Breeding Field Crops. (5thed.) Iowa State University Press Ames, USA. 2. Shiron, J. (Editor). 2004. Transgenic Cotton. Science Press, 16 Donghuangchenggen North Street Beijing, China. 3. Singh, P. 2004. Cotton Breeding. Kalyani Publishers. New Delhi. India. 4. Johnie, N.J. and S. Saha. 2001. Genetic improvement of Cotton-emerging techniques. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co., New Delhi, India. 5. Mauney, J.R. 1984. Cotton. ASA, CSSA and SSSA. Agronomy Monograph. Amer. Soc. Agron., Madison, Wisconsin, USA.