Welcome to Acta Prataculturae Sinica ! Today is Share:

Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2022, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (1): 238-245.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2020487

Previous Articles    

Analysis of genetic variation in agronomic traits of half-sib families of Melilotus albus in the second generation of recurrent selection

Peng-lei WANG(), Zhuan-zhuan YAN, Li-juan GAO, Qian MA, Xi-fang ZONG, Sheng-sheng WANG, Ji-yu ZHANG()   

  1. State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems,Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation,Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs,College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology,Lanzhou University,Lanzhou 730020,China
  • Received:2020-10-28 Revised:2020-12-24 Online:2021-12-01 Published:2021-12-01
  • Contact: Ji-yu ZHANG

Abstract:

This research formed part of a program to breed a new cultivar of Melilotus albus with high quality, high yield and low coumarin content. In pursuit of this goal, we conducted a second recurrent selection at two sites, of 25 half-sib families of M. albuson the basis of the first recurrent selection. Significant genotypic variation (P<0.05) between half-sib families were found for plant height, dry weight, fiber content and coumarin content, and there were significant genotype×environment interactions (P<0.05) between the two locations for most traits, including dry weight, plant height and stem diameter. The predicted genetic gain of dry weight and plant height traits were 4.3% and 2.6%, respectively, based on genotypic variance. The correlation analysis showed that the stem diameter was significantly positively correlated with dry weight and plant height (P<0.01), and the crude protein concentration was significantly negatively correlated with neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber levels (P<0.01). Principal component analysis was used to show the relationship among agronomic traits and the performance of the half-sib families. The 25 half-sib families were divided into four groups by cluster analysis. Among these four groups, the third group had relatively high dry weight and crude protein, as well as lowest coumarin content. This second recurrent selection of 25 half-sib families will provide useful germplasm for breeding new lines of M. albus.

Key words: Melilotus albus, recurrent selection, half-sib family, low coumarin content, genotype-by-environment interaction, genetic gain