<b>Genetic analysis of fusarium wilt resistance in Upland cotton germplasm (</b> <i> <b>Gossypium hirsutum</b> </i> <b>L.)</b>

Fusarium wilt (FW), caused by the soil-borne pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum (FOV), is an economically serious disease-causing significant damage to cotton crops worldwide, including in Uzbekistan. This study evaluated the resistance of Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) germplasm from Uzbekistan against FOV race 4 under controlled phytotron conditions. Fifteen cotton accessions were phenotypically assessed for disease symptoms and genotypically screened with 118 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers to identify genetic polymorphisms. Several cotton lines, including Rex, PD−648, Mebane B−1, Las Brenas−347, and DPZ−554085, exhibited high resistance to FW. A total of 40 SSR markers were polymorphic, producing 165 alleles. The identification of resistant lines possessing specific resistance-associated marker alleles provides valuable genetic resources. These findings can be effectively utilized in marker-assisted selection (MAS) to accelerate the development of high-yielding, wilt-resistant cotton cultivars.