The genetic control of fiber pigment color in naturally colored cotton was studied. The expres-sion of brown and green fiber color was controlled by incompletely dominant single genes and incompletelydominant major genes, respectively. Production and accumulation of the fiber pigment were related to specialexpression of enzymatic genes for pigment synthesis in fiber cells. At the stage of fiber lengthening, naturallycolored cotton, like white cotton, appeared purely white. But when fiber cell walls entered the thickeningstage, pigment appeared by degrees. When the fiber was completely matured (on boll dehiscence), the colorreached its darkest level. After wetting process treatment, the hues of the fiber pigment changed in regularpatterns. The hue circle for brown and green cotton changed in the opposite direction with wetting processtreatment. In general, the treated cotton color and luster became dark and vivid, and this trend provided the possibili-ty for enhancing the fiber quality by suitable enviromnental friendly finishing. The analysis showed that the color andluster of the cotton may be controlled by a series of pigments which show different chemical performance.
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