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- Author or Editor: Douglas V. Shaw x
Strawberry seedlings (Fragaria ×ananassa Duch.) from the Univ. of California strawberry improvement program were assigned randomly to soils prepared either with or without preplant fumigation with a mixture of 2 methyl bromide: 1 chloropicrin (by mass; 392 kg·ha-1) in order to evaluate sampling methods for root characters. After 5 months in annual hill culture, individual plant root systems were sampled with a single 1.9-cm-diameter × 24-cm-long soil core probe to determine root mass (RM), secondary rootlet mass (SRM), and a subjective root appearance score (RAS) based on root color and morphology. Whole plants were subsequently extracted and used to measure these root characters and total above-ground (shoot) mass. Soil core samples captured <1 % of total RM on average but explained 45% to 74% of the variability for whole-plant RM and SRM in both soil environments. Plants grown in fumigated soils had greater shoot mass, plant diameter, RM, SRM, and RAS than those grown in nonfumigated soils, regardless of sampling method. Phenotypic correlations between traits were fairly consistent across fumigation treatments, differing by more than ±0.20 only for associations involving RAS as a variable. Highly significant (P < 0.01) phenotypic correlations were detected among shoot mass, plant size, and root core and whole-plant RM and SRM in both fumigation environments; correlations between whole-plant RM and shoot mass were r =0.84 and 0.96 in fumigated and nonfumigated soils, respectively. Conversely, nearly all correlations between pairs of traits involving either soil core or whole-plant RAS were nonsignificant. Together, these results indicate that a strong correspondence exists between above- and below-ground vegetative growth and that most correlations between traits are consistent across fumigation treatments. Further, the strong relationship between soil core RM and whole-plant RM indicates that soil cores provide an accurate description of root growth relationships at the whole-plant level and can be substituted effectively for whole-plant (destructive) samples. Chemical name used: trichloronitromethane (chloropicrin).
Breeders of horticultural food crops are usually concerned with multiple traits related to yield and quality as well as other traits such as biotic and abiotic stresses. Yield in these crops is not solely tonnage of biomass produced in the field. Rather, it is the proportion of the crop that can be harvested and brought to market in a condition and at a price acceptable to the consumer. Quality may include flavor, color, shape, size, degree of damage, nutrient levels, and traits that permit greater perceived food safety or environmental sustainability. Some traits may exhibit phenotypic associations. Traits with unfavorable associations will be of concern to the breeder if the cause is unfavorably correlated genetic effects, especially those resulting from pleiotropy. Several multiple trait selection schemes have been developed, including independent culling levels, tandem selection, and index selection. These schemes can result in improvement even for traits with unfavorable associations. However, the breeder must have a strong rationale for each trait addressed in a breeding program because each additional trait necessitates larger breeding populations and more resources. Thus, the breeder's first challenge for each crop is to determine which traits are most important and which issues are most amenable to a breeding solution.
Three preplant soil fumigation treatments were applied on 5 Apr. 1993 to a nursery site that had not been planted previously to strawberries (Fragaria ×ananassa Duch.): 1) a mixture of 67 methyl bromide: 33 chloropicrin (CP) (by weight, 392 kg·ha–1) (MBCP); 2) 140 kg CP/ha; and 3) nonfumigation (NF). On 26 Apr., cold-stored `Chandler' and `Selva' strawberry plants of registered stock were established in each treatment. Soil and root/crown disease symptoms were absent in all treatments during the course of the study. In October, runner plants were machine-harvested and graded to commercial standards. The cultivars produced a similar number of runners per mother plant. Fumigation with MBCP, CP, and NF resulted in 18.56, 15.75, and 7.89 runners per mother plant, respectively. For `Selva', runner root and crown dry weights were similar for the MBCP and CP treatments, but NF resulted in significant reductions compared to the other two treatments. For `Chandler', fumigation with CP resulted in reduced root dry weight, and NF resulted in reduced crown and root dry weights compared to fumigation with MBCP. The results demonstrate the marked decreases in strawberry runner production and runner size that can occur in the absence of preplant soil fumigation, even on new strawberry ground. Also, small, but significant, reductions in runner production and runner size may occur with CP applied at a rate of 140 kg·ha–1 compared to standard fumigation with MBCP. Chemical name used: trichloronitromethane (chloropicrin).
Performance traits for twelve strawberry genotypes (Fragaria × ananassa) were evaluated in annual hill culture, with and without preplant soil fumigation (methyl bromide/ Chloropicrin 67:33, 350#/A) at two location. One trial followed several cycles of strawberry plantation whereas the other had not been planted to strawberries for over 20 years. Plant mortality was less than 3%. thus the main effects of fumigation treatment in these experiments must be due to sublethal effects of soil organisms. Plants grown in nonfumigated soil yielded 57% and 51% of the fruit produced by plants on adjacent fumigated soil, for “new” and “old” strawberry ground respectively. Highly significant (P<0.01) differences were also detected for fruit weight (88% and 93%) and leaf number after plantation establishment (73% and 80%). Significant genotype × fumigation interaction was not detected for any of the Performance traits. These results demonstrate that strawberry productivity is substantially increased by fumigation, even in the absence of lethal pathogens. More importantly, little opportunity exists for developing cultivars specifically adapted to nonfumigated soils.
Color change in fresh, ripe strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa Duch.) fruit stored at 0C for up to 7 days was recorded using the Commission Internationale de l' Éclairage color space (L*, a*, and b*). External (skin) fruit color became darker and less chromatic but did not change hue. Internal (flesh) fruit color became darker and more chromatic. Regression coefficients calculated for individual genotypes were homogeneous for each of the color traits except internal hue. Depending on genotype, the red fruit flesh either became a bluer red or did not change hue. In all cases, rates of change were small. Color change for fresh strawberry fruit during several days of storage at 0C likely is not an appreciable source of error in plant breeding experiments.
Components of variance were estimated for 10 strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa) color traits to determine their relative importance and to design optimal sampling strategies. The color attributes of >2000 fruit from 47 genotypes from the Univ. of California Strawberry Improvement Program were evaluated over three harvest dates (HDs) in one growing season. Measurements were obtained for a moderate number of fruit from each genotype on each date, and two measurements were obtained for each trait on all fruit. Variances for HDs were nonsignificant or small (0% to 8% of the total variance). Genotype × date variances were highly significant but small (≤6% of the total) for all color traits except internal hue (14% of the total). For external color traits, the within-fruit variance was greater than the among-fruit variance (16% to 64% and 0% to 14% of the total, respectively). For internal color traits, the among-fruit variance was greater than the within-fruit variance (20% to 37% and 9% to 19% of the total, respectively). Obtaining two measurements per fruit for several fruit on one HD is an efficient strategy for characterizing a genotype's fruit color; seven to 22 fruit are needed to estimate a genotype's fruit color within 2 units (Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage L*a*b* or degrees) with 95% confidence.
The genetic opportunity for selection of early fruiting strawberry cultivars was evaluated using seedling populations from the Univ. of California (UC) breeding program in three years. Narrow-sense heritabilities for early season yield and for the proportion of an individual's total yield expressed early were moderate (h2 = 0.24-0.53) and broad-sense heritabilities were slightly larger (H2 = 0.31-0.70), suggesting the presence of some nonadditive genetic variance for these traits. These two traits were genetically correlated with each other (rg = 0.78-0.98), but only early yield was consistently genetically correlated with seasonal yield (rg = 0.52-0.82). Selection was performed for each trait using an index on full-sib family means and individual phenotypic values in two of the three years, and predicted response was compared with that obtained using vegetatively propagated runner plants from selected genotypes in the subsequent fruiting season. Statistically significant (P < 0.05) selection response was obtained in one of two years for each trait, and combined analysis demonstrated highly significant (P < 0.01) response for both traits. However, realized response over all traits and years was just 27.3% of that predicted based on the estimated heritabilities and applied selection intensities. These results suggest that selection for early yield should be based at least in part on runner plant evaluations rather than exclusively on seedling performance.
Strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa Duch.) seedlings from a factorial mating design were tested in each of two locations using two propagule types (seedlings and runners). Genotypic correlations were used to indicate G × E interaction across these locations and propagation systems and to predict correlated responses between selection under specific conditions and commercial propagation. A combined index on relatives was constructed and used to select four groups of individuals—one for each location-propagule combination—for each of two production traits. Comparison was then made with realized responses from subsequent clonal testing at a single site representing the commercial environment. Although selection in the commercial environment (Watsonville) was predicted to give the greatest selection response, realized responses were greatest for the Wolfskill site. Additionally, the present system of selecting seedlings at Wolfskill and testing clones at Watsonville offers considerable logistical advantages that may outweight genetic considerations. The concept of effective index heritability was introduced to enable the calculation of predicted response based on index selection. Neither the use of clonally tested parents nor a comparative seedling set selected for another trait was ideal for estimating realized response.