Combining ability in eight selected clones of sugarcane (Saccharum sp)
José Antonio Bressiani; William Lee Burnquist; Sandro Ricardo Fuzatto; Ana Lídia Bonato And Isaias Olivio Geraldi
Eight commercial sugarcane (Saccharum sp) clones were crossed in a full diallel. Five characters were evaluated in the progeny in one or two harvests: Refractometer solids (Brix %), Yield (tons of cane per hectare, TCH), number of millable stalks, reaction to rust (Puccinia melanocephala) and pithiness. A sixth character, Brix yield (TBH) was calculated from TCH and Brix %. The eight parental clones were treated as fixed variables in the analysis. General combining ability (GCA) was significant for all 6 characters (p<0.01) and specific combining ability (SCA) was significant for Brix %, TCH, TBH and rust reaction in plant cane. The ratio between GCA and SCA was greater than 0.60, for all variables except for TBH in plant cane, indicating the predominance of GCA effects. The selection of high GCA parents for subsequent intercrossing in order to explore SCA is recommended, but some high value SCA combinations may be lost. Get the article here. (PDF)