Genetic parameters of morpho-agronomic and physiological traits of crambe genotypes under drought conditions

Abstract

This work aims at evaluating and discriminating crambe genotypes regarding tolerance to water deficit by means of morpho-agronomic and physiological traits. The trial was carried out in a greenhouse under a randomized complete block design with four blocks, in a 2 x 8 factorial scheme, being two environments (with and without stress) and eight genotypes (FMS CR 1101, FMS CR 1106, FMS CR 1203, FMS CR 1305, FMS CR 1307, FMS CR 1312 and FMS CR 1326 and cultivar FMS Brilhante). The genotypes were evaluated according to physiological and morpho-agronomic traits. The significance of the mean squares was tested by the F test (P < 0.05) and the genetic parameters were estimated as ratio b between the genetic (CVg) and experimental (CVe) coefficients of variation, broad-sense heritability at genotypic mean level (), intraclass correlation (r) and selective accuracy (Ac). In general, water deficit did not cause severe physiological limitations to the plants. Plant height (PH), total dry mass (TDM) and grain yield (GY) were the traits that stood out for presenting the highest estimates of ratio b, , CVg and r, revealing the possibility of genetic gains with the selection. Nevertheless, after evaluating the performance of genotypes in terms of physiological and morpho-agronomic traits, it was concluded that cultivar FMS Brilhante and inbred lines FMS CR 1326 and FMS CR 1106 had the most favorable traits for the selection, therefore, presenting potential for water deficit tolerance.