Assessment of Genetic Diversity for Cotton Leaf Curl Disease (CLCuD) and Qualitative Traits among Elite Cotton Cultivars

Cotton is a major fibrous cash crop cultivated in over 80 countries because the global textile industry depends on it. In Pakistan, the primary factor reducing cotton production is cotton leaf curl disease caused by a begomovirus, a cotton leaf curl virus vectored through the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci. This disease shows various symptoms, including vein thickening, stunted plant growth, and cup-shaped outgrowth known as Enation. This study was conducted to analyze the genetic diversity for cotton leaf curl disease among 50 cotton varieties using 10 SSR primers. The results showed that 57 alleles were identified, averaging 5.7 alleles per primer. Maximum Polymorphism was exhibited by the primers NAU 2083 and NAU 2273, having PIC values of 0.8621 and 0.5874, respectively. Phylogenetic tree by neighbor-joining method showed a greater genetic diversity among the cotton genotypes under study suggesting that these cotton varieties can be utilized in future breeding programs for cotton improvement.