The increase in the population at the global level necessitates to explore promising approaches to increase food supply, including protein and oil, to meet the needs of the people. Cotton is one of the most important oil producing crops and cottonseed meal provides important protein nutrients as animal feed. However, information on the genetic basis of cottonseed oil and protein contents is lacking. In this study; protein contents, oil and fatty acid composition of 124 cotton genotypes were observed for developing new cultivars. Accelerated Solvent Extraction method used for determining fat ratio; Gas Chromatography employed for fatty acid analysis while protein contents were analyzed by Kjeldahl method. Average crude oil 31.0%, total fat contents varied from 23.11 to 37.70% while mean protein content 38.0% were observed among genotypes. The dominating fatty acids included linoleic acid, palmitic acid and oleic acid (46.91, 25.73 and 20.21%) respectively, while linolenic acid (0.13%), γ-linolenic (0.33%), palmitoleic acid (0.64%), myristic acid (0.88%), nervonic acid (1%) and stearic acid (2.38%) had variations in fatty acid contents. Frequency distribution of the parameters showed a normal distribution and differences among genotypes for the traits studied were statistically highly significant. Prinicipal component analysis showed a complex opposite relationship with a total protein and oil contents. Genotypes; Fantom for protein, Cirpan 60 for total crude oil, Stoneville 468 and YB195 for higher amount of fatty acids especially oleic acid; can be used for improvement of cottonseed quality in breeding programs.

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In recent years, oat plant especially for hay yield is on demand in Turkey. In this study, 167 oat landraces originated from Turkey were evaluated for germination and some early seedling stage traits and genotyped by 6K SNP Chip assay to detect candidate markers using association mapping analysis. Principal component analysis (PCA) were also performed to determine relationships among investigated traits. The variation in local oat genotypes for germination and other investigated traits was found significant at the 5% significance level, except for germination rate (GR). The values for germination rate was found between 52-76% and 52-100% for germination ratio, while 12.33 to 45 mm for coleoptile length and 8 to 21 mm for radicle length. On the other hand, plumula length varied between 2 to 28.45 mm and 1301.33 to 5494.40 for seed vigor index. In the research, PC1 and PC2 value was found 41.5% and 21.5%, respectively, explaining the 63% of the total variation. Germination rate and germination ratio (GP) were positively and significantly correlated with the other investigated traits. According to the results of the association mapping analysis a total number of 43 candidate markers were observed, 10 candidate markers for germination rate, five candidate markers for germination ratio (GP), five markers for radicle length (RL), eight markers for coleoptile length (CL), seven markers for plumula length (PL) and eight markers for seed vigor index (SVI). These candidate markers identified in this study for germination and early seedling stage traits could be used in future studies.

Combining ability and heterosis for fiber quality traits in cotton Combining ability analysis and heterosis for cotton fiber quality traits were studied in a set of diallel crosses involving eight cotton (Gossypium sp.) genotypes. Randomized complete block design was used to test 56 F1 and 8 parents for fiber quality traits; length (Len), strength (Str), micronaire (Mic), uniformity (Unf), elongation (Elg), spinning consistency index (Sci) and short fiber index (Sfi). Analysis revealed significant general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) effects for all the traits and additive gene effects were important in the inheritance of the traits. Giza-45 had the highest GCA effects for Len, Sci, Unf and Elg while Is-4 had the highest Str value. Mic and Sfi values were lowest for Askabat-100 and Giza-45, respectively. The cross Cukurova-1518 × 108-F and Nazilli-84S × Askabat-100 had the lowest SCA effects for Mic and Sfi, respectively. The highest values for Len (Askabat-100 × 108-F), for Str (Acala Prema × 108-F), for Sci (Is-4 × Giza-45), for Unf (Stoneville-453 × Askabat-100) and for Elg (108-F × Is-4) were also obtained. Hybridizations among Askabat-100 × Nazilli-84S, Is-4 × Giza-45, Askabat-100 × Stoneville-453, Askabat-100 × Giza-45, Is-4 × 108F, Giza-45 × 108F, Giza-45 × Acala Prema, Nazilli-84S × Giza-45, Is-4 × Nazilli-84S and Acala Prema × Askabat-100 crosses yielded the best heterosis and heterobeltiosis values. Aforementioned parents and crosses could be utilized for further selection of high fiber quality and applying 3-way crosses or modified backcross or recurrent selection to genotypes having good combining ability would improve fiber quality.

Fibers of cultivated cotton are classified into two types, lint and fuzz. Fuzzless seeds are cotton seeds lacking fuzz on almost the whole surface of the seed except for small amounts of fuzz at the micropylar or chalazal regions. Fuzzless seeds provide a number of advantages such as avoiding delintation processes and increasing the quality of feed rations. Therefore, it is important to develop varieties having seeds without fuzz but with high fiber ratios. This study, in which three different F 2 populations have been developed by using three distinct genotypes as parents, was conducted to investigate the quantitative inheritance of fuzz and fiber formation and to generate a genetic mapping population. F 2 populations showed 3:1 segregation for fuzz initiation and 15:1 for fiber initiation, meaning that fuzz initiation was controlled by one dominant gene while fiber initiation was controlled by two dominant genes. The ranges were between 2% and 40% for gin turnout, between 0 and 0.04 g for lint index, and between 5.5 and 15.9 g for seed index in the Stoneville 453 × PI 528429 population, while the same characters ranged from 2% to 36%, from 0 to 0.046 g, and from 9.45 to 15.42 g, respectively, for the PI 528429 × Stoneville 453 population. The last F 2 population (Fiberless × Stoneville 453) showed segregation values that varied between 0% and 42% for gin turnout, between 0 and 0.045 g for lint index, and between 5.56 and 12.98 g for seed index. Additionally, there was a significant (P < 0.01) and positive correlation between gin turn out and lint index, between seed index and lint index, and between fuzz and gin turn out and lint index. These populations will provide a valuable genetic resource for fiber and fuzz initiation as well as quantitative trait locus mapping experiments.