L. H. Shebeski

Early generation selection for yield and breadmaking quality of hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.em thell.)

SummaryEvaluation of the effect of selection in 3 different F3 populations of hard red spring wheat was achieved for yield and breadmaking quality parameters by examining the subsequent performance of F3 selections as populations of F5 lines. For baking absorption the mean performance of the F5 populations was positively related to the performance of the F3 selections in each of the 3 population-years. A significant relationship between the performance in F3 and in F5 was not obtained in any of the 3 years for bushel weight, flour ash, remix loaf volume, farinograph mixing tolerance index or for flour color grade. A high positive relationship between performance in F3 and F5 was found in two out of three years for protein content, flour protein content and 1,000-kernel weight. Predictive ability for sedimentation value, flour yield, farinograph development time and blend loaf volume was inconsistent for different population-years.A positive relationship between the yield of F3 plots and the mean yield of F5 populations was found in only 1 year. In the other 2 years the relationship between F3 and F5 yields ranged from nonsignificant to low, negative and significant. The latter results were possibly related to the relatively narrow high yielding range of the total F3 variability for yield which was sampled in each of those years. In all 3 population-years the highest yielding F5 populations were derived from F3 lines which were high yielding on a plot basis and also very high yielding relative to the yield of their adjacent control in the F3 nursery.Broad sense heritabilities calculated for the F5 generation support the thesis that selection between F3-derived populations would be a worthwhile plant breeding procedure for many of the breadmaking quality parameters.