The diploid cotton species can constitute a valuable gene pool for the more agronomically desirable cultivated tetraploid cultivars and offer better opportunities to study gene structure and function through gene knockouts. In order to exploit these advantages, a regeneration system is required to achieve these transformation-based goals. Carbohydrate source and concentration were evaluated to improve somatic embryo (SE) production and desiccation treatments to improve the conversion efficiency of SEs to plants in a diploid Gossypium arboreum accession, A₂-9 (PI-529712). Improved SE numbers and their subsequent conversion into plantlets was achieved with a Murashige and Skoog (MS)/sucrose-based medium M₂ [0.04 M sucrose, 0.3 μM α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA)]. On this medium, 219 embryos per g initiated, and close to 11% of these embryos germinated into plantlets. Neither a 5-d desiccation treatment of embryogenic callus previously cultured in liquid medium nor filter paper insertion improved the numbers of SEs induced or their conversion to plantlets. A 3-d desiccation period resulted in improved plant regeneration. When immature G. arboreum SEs induced on M₁ (0.2 M glucose, 2.6 μM NAA, and 0.2 μM kinetin) medium underwent a 3-d desiccation treatment, 49% of these immature SEs were converted to plantlets after a 4-wk period on M₂ medium. These improved results will help to pave the way for future genetic transformation and associated gene structure and function studies utilizing G. arboreum. These results, in particular the 3-d desiccation treatment, can also be incorporated into regeneration protocols to improve the regeneration efficiency of other Gossypium species.