ABSTRACT
Inheritance and interrelationships of morphological and phenological components of earliness were evaluated in a diallel analysis involving seven early-maturing parents of diverse origin and a standard cultivar. Of 13 earliness components studied, all but days to first square, vertical flowering interval, boll maturation period, and production rate index showed significant additive genetic variance. Heritability estimates ranged from 0.02 for production rate index to 0.39 for days to first open boll. Correlation analysis showed generally that the lower the node of first fruiting branch and the shorter the plant, the earlier was the onset of squaring, flowering, and boll opening.
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