Combining abilities for grain weight per plant in two-rowed barley hybrids

Abstract

10 F₁ and F₂ hybrids were obtained through diallel crossing of five divergent two-rowed barley cultivars (Vada, Djerdap, NS-293, Jagodinac and Sladoran) for examination of the mode of inheritance and combining abilities for grain weight per barley plant.

The inheritance mode was evaluated using the test of the significance of mean values of generations with respect to the parental average. The analysis of variance of combining abilities was made following the method 2, mathematical model I, for the incomplete diallel.

Different modes of inheritance of grain weight per plant in the F₁ and F₂ generations were determined, being intermediary partial dominance, dominance or superdominance.

Highly significant differences for the general (GCA) and special (SCA) combining abilities in the F₁ and F₂ generations showed that the grain weight per plant in these investigations was dependent on genes with additive and non-additive or dominant effects. The GCA variance was higher in both the F₁ and F₂ generation than the SCA variance. Positive GCA values were also determined with the Vada and Djerdap cultivars, the cultivar Jagodinac in the F₁ and F₂ generations being the best general combiner for grain weight per plant.