Abstract

VELAZCO, Julio Gabriel  and  RIMIERI, Pedro. Genotypic variability and response to selection in foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.). Acta Agron. [online]. 2012, vol.61, n.3, pp.244-252. ISSN 0120-2812.

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) is a summer annual C4 short-season crop used as cereal and forage. The aim of this study was to estimate genetic parameters useful for genetic improvement of traits related to grain and forage yield in populations adapted to Argentina. Genotypic variation, genotypic correlations and the expected genetic gain in pure lines selection were estimated in cultivars Carapé INTA y Yaguané INTA. The cultivars differed mainly in number of tillers, plant height and panicle size. Yaguané INTA showed higher levels of genotypic variation than Carapé INTA in all traits. The number of tillers had strong negative correlations with the rest of morphological traits in Yaguané INTA while these correlations were less marked in Carapé INTA. The expected genetic gains in Yaguané INTA were higher than those obtained in Carapé INTA for all traits with greater gains in panicle size and number of tillers. The estimated parameters suggest that Yaguané INTA has the greatest potential for genetic improvement.

Keywords : Biomass yield; genotypic correlations; heritability; inbred lines.

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