Selection of morphological traits to improve forage characteristics of Setaria sphacelata grown in Florida.

A genetically diverse population of Setaria sphacelata was developed at Gainesville, Florida by intercrossing the cultivars ?Narok?, ?Kazungula? and ?Solander? and a local persistent population. To determine heritability of traits that may improve setaria as a forage plant in Florida, progeny of the intercrossed population underwent two cycles of selection for inflorescence number and one cycle for leaf width. The selected populations, together with cultivars and introductions, were evaluated for morphological characters, yield and forage quality in field experiments with close- and wide-spaced plants. Increase of inflorescence number was not obtained by selection but resulted in decreased plant height, inflorescence length, yield, leaf width, and leafiness. Leaf width was increased by selection and was associated with increased leafiness and whole-plant crude protein content. The results suggest good prospects for selection of setaria cultivars suited to Florida with improved yield and quality providing they tolerate winter cold and reliably produce seed

Selection of morphological traits to improve forage characteristics of Setaria sphacelata grown in Florida.

A genetically diverse population of Setaria sphacelata was developed at Gainesville, Florida by intercrossing the cultivars ?Narok?, ?Kazungula? and ?Solander? and a local persistent population. To determine heritability of traits that may improve setaria as a forage plant in Florida, progeny of the intercrossed population underwent two cycles of selection for inflorescence number and one cycle for leaf width. The selected populations, together with cultivars and introductions, were evaluated for morphological characters, yield and forage quality in field experiments with close- and wide-spaced plants. Increase of inflorescence number was not obtained by selection but resulted in decreased plant height, inflorescence length, yield, leaf width, and leafiness. Leaf width was increased by selection and was associated with increased leafiness and whole-plant crude protein content. The results suggest good prospects for selection of setaria cultivars suited to Florida with improved yield and quality providing they tolerate winter cold and reliably produce seed.200

Sugarcane Genotype Repeatability in Replicated Selection Stages and Commercial Adoption

ABSTRACT The sugarcane (interspecific hybrids of Saccharum spp.) breeding and selection program in Canal Point (CP) Florida increased the number of genotypes advanced to its final selection stage, Stage IV, from 11 to 14. This change resulted from recently reported evidence that replications could be decreased without reducing experimental precision in Stage IV. The major purpose of this study was to determine if advancing an additional three new genotypes to Stage IV would improve the likelihood of identifying successful cultivars. A secondary objective was to determine if genotypes with high or mediocre yields in the penultimate stage, Stage III, could be expected to have similar yields in Stage IV. Data were reviewed from 24 cycles of Stage III, and 16 cycles of Stage IV. Genotype correlations between Stage III and Stage IV were significant but low for sugar yield (Mg sugar ha -1 ) (r = 0.27) and economic index ($ ha -