IMPROVEMENT OF SELECTION METHODS FOR THE COMPACT GROWTH CHARACTER IN THE MUTATION BREEDING OF APPLE CULTIVARS

To develop a more effective procedure of selecting irradiated plant material for compact growth habit in the V₂ generation, statistical methods /simple classification MANOVA, factor analysis, and Fisher’s linear discriminant analysis/ were applied to the apple varieties ‘Rubín’ and ‘Spartan’ treated with gamma rays /Co⁶⁰/. The statistical methods used have consistently shown that the ratio of shoot thickness to internode length is the most suitable criterion for distinguishing the sets of compact plants from the controls.
Based on this information two selection methods are proposed: 1/ the method of regression line with a band of significance and 2/ the method of discriminant analysis.
Both methods have been successfully verified using previously irradiated ‘McIntosh’ plant material.

Fruit Breeding

F. Paprštein

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1988.224.53