Yield and combining ability stability in different oat populations

Abstract

The association of stability indexes and diallel analyses can provide a strong tool for the predictability of selecting quantitative traits. Therefore, the present work had as objective to test the stability of different oat populations, originating from the combination of fve parental genotypes (UPF 16, UPF 18, UFRGS 7, UFRGS 17 and URPel 15) as assessed by their general and specifc combining abilities. The experimental design consisted of random blocks with three replications. The experiments were performed in the Centro Agropecuário da Palma, in the experimental feld belonging to the Centro de Genômica e Fitomelhoramento, in Capão do Leão county, Rio Grande do Sul state. The essays were performed in 2002 and 2003, as one and two experiments, respectively, adding up to three environments. The evaluation in different generations and years was essential to discriminate well the genotypes for the stability of their specifc combining ability effects. The crosses UPF 16 x UPF 18, UPF 16 x UFRGS 7 and UPF 16 x UFRGS 17 were found to be promising regarding the increase grain yield by indirect selecting number of panicles per plant, number of grains per panicle and panicle weight, respectively.