Registration of ‘Acala 1517‐21’ Cotton Cultivar

Abstract

The New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station announces the release of upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) cultivar 'Acala 1517-21' (Reg. no. CV-144, PI 693757). Acala 1517-21 was derived from a single plant selection in F 3 from a bi-parental cross between LA05307029 and AU-5491. This new cultivar was tested in eight replicated field trials in New Mexico in 2012-2017 and 21 tests across 12 states of the Cotton Belt in 2016-2017. In New Mexico, Acala 1517-21 yielded similarly to medium-staple cultivars or transgenic commercial Acala cultivars including 'PHY 725 RF', 'PHY 755 WRF', 'PHY 764 WRF', 'FM 2322GL', and 'FM 1830GLT'. Compared with 'Acala 1517-08', Acala 1517-21 averaged 12.9% higher lint yield and 11.5% higher lint percentage, with a similar boll weight, fiber length, length uniformity, elongation, micronaire, and short fiber content. However, Acala 1517-21 had similar or slightly lower fiber strength with significantly lower strength and elongation in one test. Compared with commercial transgenic and nontransgenic cultivars across the Cotton Belt, Acala 1517-21 had consistently longer and stronger fibers or lower micronaire readings. Acala 1517-21 represents a high-yielding upland cotton cultivar with high lint percentage and a long staple. 1 INTRODUCTION Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) produces more than 95% of the raw cotton with a short (<25 mm) to medium (25-30 mm) staple length globally, while the remaining cotton is predominantly produced by G. barbadense L. (known as pima, Egyptian, or Sea-Island cotton) with long-staple (LS, 30-35 mm) or extra-long-staple (>35 mm) fibers. Acala cotton is a special type of upland cotton and known for its premium fiber quality, and it produces long-staple or near-long-staple fibers developed and grown in New Mexico and California. Among 37 Acala 1517