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Reciprocal Effects for Biomass Yield in Lowland Switchgrass
Author(s) -
Bhandari Hem S.,
Webb Stephen L.,
Bouton Joseph H.,
Saha Malay C.
Publication year - 2014
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/cropsci2013.08.0532
Subject(s) - panicum virgatum , hybrid , biomass (ecology) , biology , panicum , agronomy , bioenergy , yield (engineering) , cultivar , reciprocal cross , pollen , microbiology and biotechnology , horticulture , botany , biofuel , metallurgy , materials science
Switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum L.) cultivar research is focused on improvement in biomass yield and feedstock composition for bioenergy use. These improvements could be achieved by exploiting additive and non‐additive effects of nuclear genes, as well as reciprocal differences. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of reciprocal effects on biomass yield in lowland switchgrass. Forty‐six biparental crosses and their reciprocals were evaluated at two locations in south‐central Oklahoma using a honeycomb design. The trial was established in the summer of 2007, and year‐end biomass yields were recorded during 2008 and 2009. The mean DNA content of the parents ranged from 1.96 to 3.70 pg, confirming that the parental genotypes were tetraploid. Ten of the 46 crosses demonstrating favorable reciprocal effects ( P ≤ 0.10 ) had >12% biomass yield advantage. The direction of reciprocal difference was fairly consistent across locations by years. The relative advantage of using a certain genotype as the female parent depended on the genetic background of the other genotype used in crossing, indicating the complex genetics of reciprocal effects. The hybrids from parent ‘LL43’ in crosses with ‘LL126’ and ‘LL22’ produced an average of >40% biomass when used as the pollen parent rather than using it as the female. Evaluation of genotypes of interest for reciprocal effects by crossing with several other genotypes would help identify parents with favorable maternal effects for use in development of superior synthetic or hybrid varieties.