Predicting grain yield in Australian environments using data from CIMMYT international wheat performance trials. 1. Potential for exploiting correlated response to selection

Abstract

Australian wheat breeding programs are currently evaluating and using advanced breeding lines from the International Centre for Wheat and Maize Improvement (CIMMYT). A more coordinated and efficient procedure for identifying useful lines for Australian breeding programs was evaluated by assessing the potential for exploiting correlated response to selection for grain yield between CIMMYT international and Australian evaluation trials. The genetic correlation, based on 40 common lines, between average line performance across 18 international and six Australian environments was high (0.813±0.049), indicating considerable potential for exploiting correlated response to selection for broad grain yield adaptation to the Australian environments for selection on broad adaptation in the international environments. The potential to select for specific grain yield adaptation to the individual Australian environments was investigated and individual international environments were identified which expressed a higher genetic correlation with the Australian environments than did average performance over all of the international environments. Therefore, opportunity exists for Australian wheat breeders to use the principles of indirect selection to select among advanced CIMMYT wheat lines on grain yield performance in international performance trials for both broad and specific grain yield adaptation to Australian environments prior to the introduction of this material to Australia. Since genotype by environment interaction for yield in the international trials is large and its causes are not well understood, selection for specific adaptation on the results from individual trials will require further investigation of the individual relationships.