To evaluate cotton resistance to the Brazilian root borer, Eutinobothrus brasiliensis (Hambleton), three indexes were proposed, based on selection data obtained in progeny tests, on a naturally infested plot, situated at the Tietê Experiment Station, in the years of 1966 to 1981, by the cotton breeders of the Instituto Agronômico, State of São Paulo, Brazil. The simple correlation coefficient between the two repetitions of the yearly tests was used as a parameter to study the efficiency of the indexes in selecting resistant progenies throughout that period. The most adequate index for evaluating progenies was the one obtained by the number of holes ("galleries"). The "galleries index" was observed in the woody part through an oblique section in the middle of the gall, located near the basis of the main stem of the plant. The correlation coefficients obtained in the years of 1972 to 1981 are presented and the index efficiency is discussed. The use of this index resulted in a gradual increase of the correlation coefficient, probably due to a cumulative selection of favourable resistance genes in the progenies. A high level of infestation could be maintained by picking and incorporating to the soil, the infested parts of the stems, just after data had been taken. In subsequent years, the use of the index resulted in a 50% increase in the average resistance of the selected lines of the Cotton Breeding Program.
root borer; Eutinobothrus brasiliensis (Hambleton); breeding; resistance index