Combining Ability of Sweetpotato Germplasm for Yield, Dry Matter Content, and Anthocyanin Production

Abstract

Interest in the potential of sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) for the production of industrial products is increasing. As part of an effort to evaluate the potential of sweetpotatoes for starch and anthocyanin production in the southeastern United States, a 5 × 5 North Carolina mating design II (NCII mating design) was developed to estimate the relative importance of general and specific combining abilities for dry matter (DM) content, total monomeric anthocyanin (TMA) concentration, fresh yield, and total DM and anthocyanin yields. All five traits had significant general combining abilities (GCA). Yield and DM yield had significant specific combining abilities. Significant differences among parents were observed for all traits. Yield, DM content, DM yield, and TMA yield were significantly impacted by spatial gradients within the field, but TMA concentration was not. Many trait-pairs of interest had either genotypic and/or phenotypic correlations. Phenotypic and family mean correlations among yield, DM content, and DM yield; as well as among yield, TMA, and TMA yield suggested that improving one trait will not negatively impact other traits of importance.