Distribution of cotton and it's relatives in South Africa

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) was first introduced in the Cape, but the first successful plantings were reported to be in KwaZulu Natal in 1860 - 70. This, however, did not last long and after a 30 year period of virtually no cotton produced, the next successful plantings were reported to be in the old Transvaal. After ± 100 years, cotton is still being produced in the Limpopo, North West, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu Natal, Free State and Northern Cape provinces. In 1997, genetically modified cotton (Bt, RR and Bt+RR) has been introduced in South Africa. Cotton has close wild as well as cultivated relatives (G. barbadense, G. herbaceum, Hibiscus cannabinus, Abelmoschus esculentus etc.) in South Africa. Despite the presence of these relatives, Percival et al. (1999) concluded that the possibility of gene flow from Bt, RR and Bt+RR to the relatives is extremely unlikely, because: (i) wild cotton being diploid, is not likely to produce fertile offspring when crossed with the cultivated allotetraploid cotton, (ii) commercial cotton and wild or feral allotetraploid species does not occur in the same geographical location and (iii) no non-cotton species has been identified that are sexually compatible with cultivated cotton. It has, however, been found that some related species do occur in the same areas as the cultivated cotton, and is therefore necessary to map the cotton producing areas in South Africa and overlap it with a map illustrating the spread of these close related species. The risk of gene flow between cultivated transgenic cottons and wild relative, in terms of biosafety impact, will also be discussed.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Marais, Diana, Hofs, Jean-Luc, Fessehazion, Melake K.
Format:	conference_item biblioteca
Language:	eng
Published:	s.n.
Subjects:	F30 - Génétique et amélioration des plantes, coton, Gossypium, plante transgénique, plante sauvage, croisement, risque, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_1926, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_3335, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_27619, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_24126, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_1976, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_6612, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_7252,
Online Access:	http://agritrop.cirad.fr/527131/
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