Recurrent selection in oat for adaptation to diverse environments

Abstract

In order to test if selection can improve a population's adaptation to diverse environments simultaneously, three cycles of recurrent selection based on grain yield in Iowa, Idaho, and Norway were practiced in an oat (Avena sativaL.) population developed from North American, Scandinavian, and wild species (A. sterilis L.) germplasm sources. Specific objectives were to determine if selection: increased mean yields across environments and within all environments; changed the genetic correlation of yields in different environments; and changed genetic variation for yield within the population. We evaluated 100 to 210 randomly-chosen families from each cycle of selection at three Iowa locations, in Idaho, and in Norway for two years. Grain yield within each location and mean yields across locations increased significantly over cycles of selection. Mean yields across locations expressed as a percent of the original population mean increased at a rate of 2.6% per year. Several families from the third cycle population exhibited both high mean yields across locations and consistently high yields within all locations. Average genetic correlations of yield in different environments were higher in the second cycle than in the original population. A trend of reduced genetic variation and heritability was observed in Iowa only. These results suggest that we successfully improved mean population yield both within and across locations, and yield stability across environments, and in developing families with outstanding adaptation to diverse environments.