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Family × environment interaction for sugarcane yield and its components in South Africa
Author(s) -
Mbuma Ntombokulunga W.,
Zhou Marvellous M.,
Merwe Rouxlene
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
crop science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.76
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1435-0653
pISSN - 0011-183X
DOI - 10.1002/csc2.20025
Subject(s) - cane , biology , crop , saccharum , adaptability , yield (engineering) , hybrid , stalk , agronomy , variance components , crop yield , gene–environment interaction , selection (genetic algorithm) , horticulture , ecology , statistics , mathematics , genotype , genetics , metallurgy , artificial intelligence , gene , computer science , biochemistry , materials science , sugar
In sugarcane ( Saccharum spp. hybrids) breeding, knowledge of progeny performance and adaptability increases crossing and selection efficiency. Family evaluation across environments uses progeny data to determine family genetic values and family × environment interactions. The objectives were to determine family × environment breeding parameters, family values across locations, and contribution of yield components to cane yield of families in different environments. Data were collected from the plant, first ratoon, and second ratoon crops of 44 families made from 18 female and 18 male parents and planted in the Midlands (24 mo harvest), coastal (12–18 mo), and irrigated (12 mo) environments. Cane yield was estimated from stalk number, stalk height, and stalk diameter, measured from the first 20 plants per family plot. Significant ( P < .01) family variance for cane yield traits indicated genetic variability among the families. Significant ( P < .01) family × location variance for cane yield, stalk number, and diameter indicated that the magnitude of genetic variability among families was influenced by location. The nonsignificant ( P > .05) family × crop year and family × location × crop year variances indicated similar genetic variability across crop years. Therefore, testing families in multiple locations was more important than across crop years. Best linear unbiased predictor estimates showed that families TT1051, UU0332, and UU0312 had significantly higher cane yield across locations and, therefore, were broadly adapted. VV0701 (irrigated), VV0390 (Midlands), and UU0198 (Midlands) produced greater cane yield and showed location‐specific adaptability. The irrigated, coastal, and Midlands populations showed higher specific adaptability for cane yield and stalk height.