ABSTRACT

A number of parameters influence cotton fiber length and secondary wall thickness in plant-grown fibers. The contribution of lock location to fiber development in plant-grown fibers was compared to culture- grown fibers. Gossypium hirsutum (Texas Marker 1) greenhouse-grown bolls were harvested 7 weeks post anthesis. Bolls were opened and the newer dried fibers were examined for length and secondary wall thickness. Ovules were excised from 2 days post anthesis bolls and grown in a modified Beasley and Ting medium. In plant-grown fibers mean fiber length was shortest on the apical seed in a lock while fibers on basal seeds had the thickest cell walls. Mean fiber length in culture-grown-fibers was the same for ovules exised from the apical, median and basal regions of locks.