Registration of glandless 'NuMex COT 17 GLS' upland cotton cultivar with Fusarium wilt race 4 resistance

The New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station announces the release of a glandless 'NuMex COT 17 GLS' cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) (Reg. no. CV-141, PI 691837), which carries the incomplete dominant glandless allele Gl(2)(e). NuMex COT 17 GLS was derived from an advanced backcross progeny of a cross between the Gl(2)(e) allele donor 'Bahtim 110' (G. barbadense L.) and glanded upland cotton 'CRI 12', followed by five backcrosses with glanded upland 'CRI 35' as the recurrent parent. It is resistant to Fusarium wilt (FW) race 4, with a level of resistance similar to the resistant checks 'PHY 802RF' and 'PHY 811RF', when evaluated in two naturally infected fields in California, and it is more resistant than 'Acala 1517-08' when evaluated in the greenhouse in New Mexico. This new cultivar was tested in seven replicated field trials in New Mexico in 2013-2017 and in 11 tests across nine states in 2014. Com- pared with glandless Aeala Acala 1517-18 GIS', and 'NuMex COT 15 GLS', NuMex COT 17 GLS yielded 26, 16, and 13% more lint, respectively, and produced 93% of glanded Acala 1517-08 yield. It had significantly higher lint percentage than all the check cultivars. It is classified as a medium staple with fiber quality inferior to long-staple Acala cotton cultivars. NuMex COT 17 GLS is especially adapted to the Misissippi Delta and was the top yielder in the region. It is resistant to four races of bacterial blight and less susceptible to Alternaria leaf spot than Acala 1517-08. The release of NuMex COT 17 GLS represents one of the first successful introgressions from G. barbadense germplasm with FW race 4 resistance.