Abstract

ABBOTT, L.  and  PISTORALE, S.. Determination of variance components and heritability in prairie grass (Bromus catharticus Vahl.). Agriscientia [online]. 2010, vol.27, n.2, pp.115-123. ISSN 1668-298X.

Over a three-year period, 13 genotypes of Bromus catharticus Vahl. (prairie grass) were evaluated in a completely randomized design with six replications to estimate statistical and genetic parameters. Individual plants were analyzed in relation to the following characters: number of tillers, number of panicles, number of spikelets per spike, total number of seeds and number of full seeds, weight of 1000 seeds, length of panicle, flag leaf length and flag leaf width. Multivariate tests were conducted which showed significant differences for all characters. The genetic variance was higher than the environmental variance in the three years for all characters. Broad-sense heritability ranged from 0.48 to 0.90. The relationship between the coefficient of genetic and environmental variation ranged from 1.14 to 3.21 for all traits, indicating that the selection has the best conditions in terms of immediate genetic gain. The high variability detected in all genotypes, the high heritability and the relationship of coefficient of genetic and environmental variation greater than one, are promising for the implementation of selection programs aimed at genetic improvement of prairie grass.

Keywords : Bromus catharticus; Variance components; Heritability; Genetic improvement; Genetic variability.

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