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Accounting for spatial trends to increase the selection efficiency in potato breeding
Author(s) -
Andrade Mario Henrique Murad Leite,
Fernandes Filho Claudio Carlos,
Fernandes Maiara Oliveira,
Bastos Abel Jamir Ribeiro,
Guedes Marcio Lisboa,
Marçal Tiago de Souza,
Gonçalves Flavia Maria Avelar,
Pinto Cesar Augusto Brasil Pereira,
Zotarelli Lincoln
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/csc2.20226
Subject(s) - heritability , spatial variability , biology , selection (genetic algorithm) , statistics , spatial analysis , ranking (information retrieval) , spatial heterogeneity , spatial ecology , microbiology and biotechnology , mathematics , ecology , computer science , evolutionary biology , machine learning
A crucial point in agricultural experimentation is to compare treatments with high accuracy. However, agricultural experimentation is prone to field heterogeneity, and a common source of error is the spatial variation between the plots used in an experiment. With plant breeding experiments, the high number of tested genotypes requires breeders to use large areas, which invariably increases the likelihood of spatial variation. The use of models that do not address this variation can lead to errors in selecting the best genotypes. Our goal was to evaluate the effects of two spatial models—first‐order autoregressive (AR1) and spatial analysis of field trials with splines (SpATS)—to control the spatial variation in 30 experiments from potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.) breeding programs. Specifically, we sought to control for three traits: total tuber yield (TTY), marketable tuber yield (MTY), and tuber specific gravity (SG). The results obtained with the use of spatial models were compared with the base model (independent errors) based on precision, heritability, and the impact on the selection of the best clones. Spatial models were effective in controlling local and global errors and achieved greater accuracy and efficiency over the base model. The spatial approach also showed greater heritability for all analyzed traits. The spatial models led to differences in the clone ranking and consequently in the selection of the best clones. Thus, spatial analysis has the power to make more precise analyses, which leads to more accurate selections and should be used to analyze phenotype data of potato breeding programs.