Induction and early evaluation of a high yielding elite cotton mutant line, PIM-76-8 through the use pollen irradiation technique

M2 population was raised from M1 seed developed from the intraspecific crosses (NIAB-78 x REBA-288) with male parent pollen irradiated at 10Gy of gamma rays. Different mutants having higher yield, early maturity, short internode, resistant to CLCuV disease etc. were selected. These mutants were evaluated for yield potential and other economic traits in different segregating generations in comparison to then standard cotton varieties. Out of these, the mutant PIM-76-8 consistently out-yielded all the prevalent standard cotton varieties/parents i.e. CIM240, CIM-448, CIM-443, NIAB-78 and Reba-288. On the average it gave 28.2% higher yield than the standard cotton variety CIM-443 in the micro-yield trials conducted at NIAB during 1998-99. Further evaluation of mutant, PIM-76-8 is in progress and the results are encouraging