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Repeatability of Large‐Scale Germplasm Evaluation Results in Durum Wheat
Author(s) -
Annicchiarico Paolo,
Pecetti Luciano,
Boggini Gaetano,
Doust Mohammad A.
Publication year - 2000
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 - 10.2135/cropsci2000.4061810x
Subject(s) - biology , germplasm , repeatability , test weight , selection (genetic algorithm) , triticum turgidum , trait , heritability , gene–environment interaction , agronomy , scale (ratio) , grain yield , statistics , microbiology and biotechnology , cultivar , genotype , mathematics , genetics , cartography , artificial intelligence , computer science , gene , programming language , geography
Large‐scale trait evaluation may enhance the utilization of germplasm collections by breeders. However, there is concern that this information may not be repeatable outside the area of testing because of large genotype × location interaction. Our objective was to assess the repeatability of large‐scale evaluation results for durum wheat [ Triticum turgidum (L.) Thell. ssp. turgidum conv. durum (Desf.) MacKey] across two areas of the Mediterranean region. A subset of 600 entries from a world collection was evaluated for six agronomic traits at one site in northern Syria and one in Sicily. Pearson's and Spearman's rank correlations of entry values between locations indicated that the repeatability as measured by both coefficients was high for heading time ( r ≥ 0.73), moderately high for kernel weight and plant height (0.48 ≤ r ≤ 0.57), relatively low for grain yield and kernels per spike (0.18 ≤ r ≤ 0.30), and non‐significant for early vigor score. Comparison between phenotypic and genetic correlations suggested that not only genotype × location interactions but also experimental errors contributed substantially to departures from complete repeatability. When each location alternated as the selection site and the other as the test site, at least 50% of the advantage shown by the top 10% entries over the remaining accessions at the selection site could be maintained at the test location for early or late heading, high kernel weight, and short or tall stature, for which 30 to 57% of selected entries were common to both sites. At least 20% of the selection advantage was maintained for high kernels per spike and grain yield. The results support the potential usefulness of large‐scale germplasm evaluation trials for crop improvement.