Importance of cottonseed oil and improvement of its quality and quantity through different breeding strategies

Abstract Upland cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum ) is the most important fiber and oilseed crop globally. Cottonseed produces approximately 15% of the farm-gate value in cotton production. Cottonseed oil is one of the major sources of vegetable oil which has higher value than any other by-products of cotton. Thus, increasing the quantity and quality of cottonseed oil can significantly increase the economic return of cotton production for producers without the need for additional land use and investment. This review aims to understand the importance of cottonseed oil and consumer’s acceptance, biosynthetic pathways and associated genes, genetic variation in oil content, as well as conventional breeding and modern genomic approaches to improve cottonseed oil content and quality.