بررسی عملکرد و برخی صفات زراعی و کیفی ارقام پنبه در شهرستان بمپور

Background and objectives: Cotton is the most important textile fiber crop worldwide and the second most important oilseed crop. Because of its high economic and commercial value, it is often referred to as white gold. Global demand for cotton continues to rise, making the choice of suitable varieties one of the most critical factors influencing yield. In addition, qualitative traits, particularly fiber quality, are strongly affected by genotype. Cotton varieties also vary in their adaptability to different climatic conditions. This study was conducted to evaluate the agronomic and fiber quality traits of eleven cotton varieties and to identify superior cultivars adapted to the Bampur region of Iran.
               
Materials and methods: The experiment was carried out during the 2017–2018 growing season at the Bampur Agricultural Research Station, Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center of Baluchistan. A randomized complete block design with three replications was used to evaluate eleven cotton varieties: Golestan, Varamin, Bakhtagan, Latif, Shayan, Sajedi, Khorshid, Armaghan, Sapeed, Kashmar, and Khordad. Quantitative traits assessed included seed cotton yield, fiber yield, seed yield, average boll weight, and number of bolls per plant. Qualitative traits included fiber length, micronaire, fiber strength, fiber elongation, impurity percentage, and fiber uniformity.
 
Results: Variety had a significant effect (p < 0.01) on seed cotton yield, fiber yield, seed yield, average boll weight, and number of bolls per plant. The Latif variety recorded the highest performance for seed cotton yield (2931.8 kg ha⁻¹), fiber yield (1194.5 kg ha⁻¹), average boll weight (6.15 g), and number of bolls per plant (20.4). Fiber quality traits were also significantly influenced (p < 0.01) by variety, except for fiber elongation, which was not significant. Latif exhibited the longest fiber (28.49 mm) and highest micronaire value (3.41). Sajedi and Latif had the highest fiber uniformity (82.6 and 82.5, respectively), while Golestan had the lowest (79.2). The highest fiber purity was recorded by Golestan and Latif, with impurity levels of 0.06 and 0.09, respectively.
Conclusion: Overall, the Latif variety was superior to other cultivars due to its high yield potential and favorable fiber quality characteristics, particularly seed cotton yield, fiber yield, and fiber length. Other varieties, including Golestan, Khordad, Armaghan, Shayan, Sajedi, and Varamin, also showed acceptable performance in both yield and quality traits. Therefore, Latif is recommended as the primary cultivar for the Bampur region, while the other identified varieties can also be cultivated under similar agro-climatic conditions.