Family and Line Selection for Reduced Palmitate, Saturates, and Linolenate of Soybean

Abstract

Development of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] cultivars with reduced palmitate and stearate will lower the total saturated fatty ester content of the seed oil, and reduction of linolenate will improve its oxidative stability. The objective of this study was to compare the family and line methods of selection for reduced palmitate, palmitate + stearate (saturates), and linolenate in four populations segregating for the major alleles fap1 and fap3 for reduced palmitate or the fan1(A5) and fan2 for reduced linolenate. Four random F3‐derived lines from 21 F2 families from each population were evaluated in a plant‐row‐yield test in 1995 and replicated trials at four locations in 1996. For the family method, the mean palmitate, saturates, and linolenate of the four F3‐derived lines of each F2 family was used to identify families from which to select individual lines. For the line method, lines were selected without regard to the family structure. The fatty ester contents of the selected and unselected lines based on data from one environment were compared with their mean fatty ester contents in the other environments. The number of lines selected for each of the traits by the family method was less than for the line method in all populations. There was a greater percentage of lines incorrectly rejected by the family method than by the line method. For development of cultivars with reduced palmitate, saturates, and linolenate, breeding methods that rely on family performance would not be more effective or efficient than methods that ignore family structure.