Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is a major global fiber crop. Early-maturing cotton offers the advantage of avoiding stresses by shortening the growth period. This study evaluated the heterotic potential and correlation of morphological and biochemical traits for earliness in upland cotton. The crossing of eight parental genotypes used a half-diallel mating design; the resultant F1, along with parents, underwent evaluation for earliness. The cross VH-327 × CRIS-613 (-19.55% and -19.98%) displayed a maximum significant negative heterobeltiosis for days to flowering and squaring. SAS-2 × Coker Wild (53.11%) exhibited the higher heterotic response for superoxide dismutase activity, whereas Ghauri-2 × Coker Carolina Queen showed the maximum significant positive heterobeltiosis of 21.39% for peroxidase activity. For catalase, Cyto-124 × SAS-2 (6.58%), Cyto-124 × CRIS-613 (7.59%), and Ghauri-2 × Coker Wild (9.84%) demonstrated a significant positive heterobeltiosis. The correlation results revealed a significant positive association between days to squaring and flowering, while superoxide dismutase had a negative correlation with days to flowering at the phenotypic level. Overall, VH-327 × CRIS-613 and Ghauri-2 × Coker Wild had desirable results for earliness and yield-related traits and can be favorable for the breeding of early-maturing and high-yielding cotton genotypes.
Upland cotton (G. hirsutum L.), heterobeltiosis, antioxidant enzymes, early maturity, diallel, correlation
In upland cotton (G. hirsutum L.), the cross combination VH-327 × CRIS-613 exhibited desirable heterosis for earliness-related traits, while Ghauri-2 × Coker Carolina Queen and Ghauri-2 × Coker Wild provided valuable resources for targeted breeding programs, particularly for antioxidant enzymes and yield-related traits.