Finding Needles in a Haystack: Using Geo-References to Enhance the Selection and Utilization of Landraces in Breeding for Climate-Resilient Cultivars of Upland Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

The genetic uniformity of cultivated cotton as a consequence of domestication and modern breeding makes it extremely vulnerable to abiotic challenges brought about by major climate shifts. To sustain productivity amidst worsening agro-environments, future breeding objectives need to seriously consider introducing new genetic variation from diverse resources into the current germplasm base of cotton. Landraces are genetically heterogeneous,...