Phenotypic recurrent selection in globe artichoke breeding

REOLON-COSTA, A.; GRANDO, M. F.; CRAVERO V.P.

Rosario

Simposio; IX International Symposium on Artichoke, Cardoon and their wild relatives; 2015

ISHS

Phenotypic recurrent selection aims to increase the favorable allele?s frequency through successive selection and recombination cycles and may result in an open-pollination variety. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to obtain a globe artichoke population improved for traits related to head quality as well as estimate the genetic gains obtained in quantitative traits. Twelve individual plants were selected, in base of ideal traits for in natura consumption, from a base population containing 147 plants. Selected plants were intercrossed in order to perform the C0 (cycle 0) population. This population consisted of 180 plants. In this cycle, 11 individuals were selected applying the same criteria above and intercrossed to originate the C1 (cycle 1) population, which was composed of 324 individuals. From C1 cycle, 11 individuals were selected and recombined to constitute the C2 (cycle 2) population of phenotypic recurrent selection. All populations (C0, C1 and C2) were evaluated regarding 12 quantitative and three qualitative traits. Quantitative data were submitted to variance analysis (ANOVA) and mean values were compared by Tukey's test (5% error probability). Also, genetic gain in each cycle was estimate. For qualitative data the frequency of occurrence of each type was evaluated. There was an increase of 25,4% in the frequency of violet head from C0 to C2. For head shapes the total increase in the frequency of circular heads was 34,7%, whereas for the absence of thorns the increase was of 43,2%. There was significant variation among the cycles for most of the quantitative traits like days from implantation to harvest, harvest period, primary head length and diameter, secondary heads number and diameter, bottom thickness and diameter and yield. About the final genetic progress, the primary head length and diameter, secondary heads number and diameter and bottom thickness showed significant gains. The process of phenotypic recurrent selection results in an improved artichoke population for heads quality traits and some quantitative traits.