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- Author or Editor: Paul G. Thompson x
Narrow-sense heritability and selection response estimates for weevil resistance were higher based on half-sib family means than on individual plants. Resistance levels in available sources are low and evaluation with low weevil numbers is essential for differentiation. Consequently, highest performing families produce multiple plants with no injured roots and separation of resistance levels among those plants is impossible Since a large amount of additive variance is contained among plants within families and early reduction of plant numbers would increase breeding efficiency, a study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of individual plant selection in combination with half-sib families. Two plants were selected from each of the 10 highest families based on weevil resistance and yield. Selected clones were compareds for resistance levels to means of their families when tested over 2 years. Fifty percent of selected clones had higher resistance levels than their family means indicating that individual plant selection was effective. Optimum methods of combining family and individual plant selection will be discussed.
Responses of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L>) Lam) to irrigation rates were evaluated under line-source irrigation systems on Tifton loamy sand soil in Georgia and on a Bude silt loam soil in Mississippi. Total water (rainfall plus irrigation) rates ranged from about 55% to 160% of pan evaporation (Epan). Marketable yields increased with irrigation rate until total water was about 75% of Epan then decreased rapidly with greater irrigation rates. Sweet potato yields were more sensitive to excessive water rates when grown on a silt loam than on a sandy loam soil. Storage loss and quality of cooked 'Jewel' sweet potato roots also increased as the irrigation rate increased until total water was 75% to 95% of Epan then decreased rapidly at water rates of 135 to 160% of Epan.
One hundred one accessions from the U.S. germplasm collection were evaluated in field trials for sweetpotato weevil resistance. Weevils were collected from 4 separate Mississippi locations during the winter of 1992-93. They were increased in culture and 6 adult females and 6 males were applied to the crown of each plant percentage of uninjured storage roots ranged from 53 to 99. The most highly resistant control, Regal, had 79% and the most susceptible, Centennial, 60% uninjured roots. Uninjured root numbers ranged from 0.03 to 3.82 per plant. Regal had 2.1 and Centennial 1.88 uninjured roots per plant. Seventy-five accessions produced higher percentages of uninjured roots than Regal. However, 48 of those accessions produced less than one root per plant and previous results indicated that estimates with low storage root numbers lack precision. Fourteen accessions produced as many or more roots than Regal and also higher percentages and numbers of uninjured roots.
One hundred U.S. sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatus (L.) Lam.] plant introductions (PIs) and four control cultivars were screened for insect injury in 1993. Of the least injured by insects, 56 and 31 were tested again in 1994 and 1995, respectively. Among control cultivars, the most highly resistant was `Regal' (moderately resistant), followed by `Beauregard' (susceptible), `Centennial' (susceptible), and `Jewel' (susceptible). Stem and root injury by the sweetpotato weevil (SPW) [Cylas formicarius elegantulus (Summers)] and root injury by the wireworm (Conoderus sp.)–Diabrotica sp. (cucumber beetle)– Systena sp. (flea beetle) (WDS) complex were measured. SPW stem injury was less severe (P ≤ 0.05) in 1994 and 1995 in PIs 508523, 531116, and 564107 than in control cultivars. PIs 508523 and 531116 also suffered less SPW root injury than did `Regal'. In the six PIs with least SPW root injury, PIs 538354, 564149, 508523, 538286, 531116, and 564103, 70% to 85% of the roots were not injured compared with 36% in `Regal' and 6% in `Jewel'. SPW root injury scores (0 = no injury; 5 = severe injury) in those PIs averaged 0.5 vs. 2.3 for `Regal'. Only in PI 538286 was WDS injury to roots less than in `Regal' over 2 years. However, eight additional accessions suffered less WDS injury than `Regal' in 1995 and four of those were among the six with least SPW injury. The lower levels of combined insect injury found in these four PIs (compared to `Regal') show that PIs have potential use for increasing insect resistance in sweetpotato improvement programs.
Seventeen plant bed fertilizer treatments including different rates of N, P, and K were evaluated for the effect on plant production and sweetpotato yield. `Beauregard' storage roots were bedded. Treatments were 0, 40, 80 lb N/ac; 0, 80, 160 lb P/ac; or 0, 75, 150, and 300 lb K/ac. Each nutrient was evaluated in a separate trial. After the first cutting, half of the N treatments and all P and K treatments had 40 lb N/ac top-dressed on the beds. For the first cutting the high rate of N (80 lb/ac) had a higher green weight than the low rate of 0 lb/ac. There wer no other differences found in the first or second cuttings for plant production or yield. Plant bed fertilization also had no effect on transplant survival.
Twenty-four half-sib sweetpotato families were field tested for freedom from injury by sweetpotato weevil and other soil inhabiting, injurious insects (WDS). Three pairs of adult male and female weevils were applied to the crown of each plant at the beginning of storage root enlargement. Naturally occurring numbers of WDS were high enough for considerable injury from those insects. WDS injury free roots ranged from 19% in Centennial, the suceptible control, to 57% in Regal, the resistant control. The highest family mean for percent non-injured by WDS was 55%. Weevil injury free roots ranged from 67% in Centennial to 90% in Regal with 3 families producing mean weevil non-injured roots of 89%. The genetic correlation between weevil injury free and WDS injury free roots was 0.69 ± 0.28. That estimate is preliminary and based on data from one environment. Evaluations will be repeated in 1994 for estimates of GXE to derive genetic correlation estimates with less environmental interactions.
The inheritance of root-knot nematode race 3 [Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid & White) Chitwood] resistance was studied in 71 progenies of the F1 backcross population produced from the resistant parent `Regal' and the susceptible parent `Vardaman'. The distribution frequency of the progenies measured on total nematode number (eggs + juveniles) indicated a bimodal distribution with a ratio of 4 resistant: 1 susceptible. Based on this phenotypic ratio, the proposed genetic model was duplex polysomic inheritance (RRrrrr = resistant). Bulk segregant analysis in conjunction with the RAPD technique was employed to identify RAPD marker linked to the root knot nematode-resistant gene. Nine of 760 random decamer primers screened showed polymorphic bands. Primer OPI51500 produced a band in the resistant bulk, but not in the susceptible bulk. Estimated recombination frequency of 0.24 between the OPI51500 marker and the root-knot nematode-resistant gene indicated linkage.